Hell's Doorway

Last updated
Hell's Doorway
Author F. J. Thwaites
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
GenreAdventure novel
PublisherJackson & O'Sullivan
Publication date
1932

Hell's Doorway is an adventure novel by Australian author F. J. Thwaites. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

Vallance Hunter is a Sydney medical student whose mother is dying of cancer. Vallance euthanizes her and is sent to prison. After two years, he escapes from Goulburn Gaol and goes to live on a cattle station in the Wolgan Valley run by a grazier and his daughter. He falls in love with the daughter and goes blind. [3]

Background

Sales of the novel boomed after it was read out on 2UE radio. [4] This led to Thwaites' novels being routinely adapted for radio. [5]

The novel sold over 27,000 copies within its first year. [6] Sales of The Broken Melody and this were described as "remarkable". [7]

Reception

The book critic in the Sydney Morning Herald said that "Mr Thwaites writes vigorously and extracts the last ounce of excitement from the sensational elements of his plot. His characters, however, appear to be somewhat unreal, probably because Mr Thwaites has not mastered the art of writing good dialogue, and because he is regrettably prone to sentimentality." [8]

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References

  1. ↑ "His Second Book". The Land . Sydney: National Library of Australia. 5 August 1932. p. 24. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "FJ Thwaites author of 32 novels". The Sydney Morning Herald. August 15, 1979. p. 8.
  3. ↑ "SUCCESSFUL AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR". Daily Advertiser . New South Wales, Australia. 14 September 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 10 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ Blaber, Ron. "Frederick Joseph Thwaites (1908–1979)". Thwaites, Frederick Joseph (1908–1979). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University . Retrieved 29 October 2014.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help) Published in hard copy 1990.
  5. ↑ "SWITCHGIRL'S FOLLIES AT 2SM", The Wireless Weekly: The Hundred per Cent Australian Radio Journal, 27 (19 (May 8, 1936)), Sydney: Wireless Press, nla.obj-712038814, retrieved 9 March 2024– via Trove
  6. ↑ "Australian Novelist". Camden News . NSW: National Library of Australia. 15 February 1934. p. 8. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "READERS HERE GO "HIGHBROW"". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. 3, no. 111. New South Wales, Australia. 24 June 1933. p. 4. Retrieved 10 March 2024– via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "Lady Longford Makes More Conversation". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 26 August 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 30 October 2014.


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