The Twyborn Affair

Last updated
The Twyborn Affair
TwybornAffair.jpg
First edition
Author Patrick White
Cover artistMon Mohan
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Jonathan Cape
Publication date
1979
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Pages432 pp
ISBN 0-09-945821-7
OCLC 247822285

The Twyborn Affair is a novel by Australian Nobel laureate Patrick White, first published in 1979. The three parts of the novel are set in a villa on the French Riviera before the First World War, a sheep station on the edge of Australia's Snowy Mountains in the inter-war period, and in London in the lead-up to the Second World War. Each part describes a different portion of the life of the protagonist, whose name and gender identity change with each section. Born male as Eddie Twyborn, in Part I he presents as a woman named Eudoxia, in Part II as male Eddie, and in Part III as female Eadith.

The seed of the novel was a reported exchange between the adventurer Herbert Dyce Murphy and his mother, in which the young boy claimed to be his mother's daughter Edith. The mother said she was glad, as she had always wanted a daughter. White heard about this episode from Barry Jones in 1974. [1] [2] [3] [4]

As in many of White's novels, the main focus is on identity; White views his subject from masculine–feminine, colonial–English, rural–metropolitan, and bourgeois–bohemian polarities. The writing has been described as vivid and painterly in its attention to landscape, and remorseless in its critical dissection of social conventions. The novel is a virtuosic display of White's characteristic "wicked" humour.

The Twyborn Affair was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1979, but was removed at the request of the author, that it make way for the work of younger and more deserving writers. This reflects White's refusal, later in life, of all literary awards. He made an exception for the 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature, but sent a surrogate, Sidney Nolan, to Sweden to accept the award on his behalf.

Plot Summary

Part I

The first part of the novel is told from two perspectives. An omniscient third person narration that centers on Joanie Golson is interspersed with diary entries written by Eudoxia Vatatzes. Joanie and Curly Golson are wealthy Australians vacationing in France. While out on a drive, Joanie observes a young woman living in a small cottage along with an older man and becomes fascinated by her. Unbeknownst to her, the woman is the child of a close friend of Joanie's in Australia (Eadie Twyborn). The young woman, who goes by the name Eudoxia Vatatzes, recognizes Joanie as her mother's friend and is disturbed by her intrusion into their life. Events conspire to bring them together, however, and the two couples end up having an awkward afternoon together at the cottage, after which Eudoxia and her elderly lover Angelos Vatatzes immediately flee the area. Shortly after settling into a new boarding house, Angelos dies, which closes out Part I.

Part II

Part II begins with Lieutenant Eddie Twyborn on a ship from Europe to Australia after the conclusion of World War I. It quickly becomes apparent that Eddie is the same person as Eudoxia Vatatzes from Part I. Now presenting as male (his birth gender), he attracts attention from both genders on the ship. Upon arriving in Australia, he visits his mother Eadie before taking up work at a sheep station. While at the sheep station, he carries on an affair with a married woman and is raped by a man.

Part III

In Part III, the protagonist is again presenting as female, this time as Eadith, the madam of a London brothel.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick White</span> English-born Australian writer

Patrick Victor Martindale White was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987.

<i>Coming to America</i> 1988 film directed by John Landis

Coming to America is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the lead role. The film also co-stars Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, and John Amos. The film was released in the United States on June 29, 1988. Eddie Murphy plays Akeem Joffer, the crown prince of the fictional African nation of Zamunda who travels to the United States in the hopes of finding a woman he can marry and will love him for who he is, not for his status or for having been trained to please him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodore II Laskaris</span> Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258

Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Empress Irene Laskarina. His mother was the eldest daughter of Theodore I Laskaris, who had established the Empire of Nicaea as a successor state to the Byzantine Empire in Asia Minor after the crusaders captured the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Theodore received an excellent education from two renowned scholars, Nikephoros Blemmydes and George Akropolites. He made friends with young intellectuals, especially with a page of low birth, George Mouzalon. Theodore began to write treatises on theological, historical and philosophical themes in his youth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John III Doukas Vatatzes</span> Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans

John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes, was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known as Theodore II Laskaris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chyna</span> American professional wrestler and bodybuilder (1969–2016)

Chyna was an American professional wrestler, fitness model, bodybuilder, author, actress, adult actress and television personality.

Eudoxia, Eudokia or Evdokia is a feminine given name, which originally meant "good fame or judgement" or "she whose fame or judgement is good" in Greek. The Slavic forms of the name are East Slavic: Evdokiya, Yevdokiya ; South Slavic: Evdokija (Евдокија), Jevdokija (Јевдокија). It was mainly popular in late antiquity and during the Middle Ages, particularly in Eastern Europe. It continues to be in use today, usually in honor of various saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eudoxia Lopukhina</span> Tsaritsa consort of Russia

Tsarina Eudoxia Fyodorovna Lopukhina was the first wife of Peter I the Great, and the last ethnic Russian and non-foreign wife of a Russian monarch. She was the mother of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and the paternal grandmother of Peter II of Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Licinia Eudoxia</span> Wife of Western Roman emperor Valentinian III

Licinia Eudoxia was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. Her husbands included the Western Roman Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera</span> Empress consort of the Byzantine Empire

Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina or better Kamatera was a Byzantine Empress by marriage to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael II Komnenos Doukas</span> Despot of Epirus

Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Comnenus Ducas, often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, was from 1230 until his death in 1266/68 the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, which included Epirus in northwestern Greece, the western part of Greek Macedonia and Thessaly, and western Greece as far south as Nafpaktos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Modiano</span> French novelist

Jean Patrick Modiano, generally known as Patrick Modiano, is a French novelist and recipient of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is a noted writer of autofiction, the blend of autobiography and historical fiction.

<i>The Vivisector</i> 1970 novel by Patrick White

The Vivisector is the eighth published novel by Patrick White. First published in 1970, it details the lifelong creative journey of fictional artist/painter Hurtle Duffield. Named for its sometimes cruel analysis of Duffield and the major figures in his life, the book explores universal themes like the suffering of the artist, the need for truth and the meaning of existence.

Racial passing occurs when a person who is classified as a member of a racial group is accepted or perceived ("passes") as a member of another racial group. Historically, the term has been used primarily in the United States to describe a black or brown person or of multiracial ancestry who assimilated into the white majority to escape the legal and social conventions of racial segregation and discrimination. In the Antebellum South, passing as white was a temporary disguise used as a means of escaping slavery. Other instances include cases of Jews in Nazi Germany attempting to pass as "Aryan" and non-Jewish to escape persecution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marjorie Barnard</span> Australian novelist and short story writer, critic and historian

Marjorie Faith Barnard was an Australian novelist and short story writer, critic, historian and librarian. She went to school and university in Sydney, and then trained as a librarian. She was employed as a librarian for two periods in her life, but her main passion was writing.

<i>The Aunts Story</i> 1948 novel by Patrick White

The Aunt's Story is the third published novel by the Australian novelist and 1973 Nobel Prize-winner, Patrick White. It tells the story of Theodora Goodman, a lonely middle-aged woman who travels to France after the death of her mother, and then to America, where she experiences what is either a gradual mental breakdown or an epiphanic revelation.

The sun was still a manageable ball above the ringing hills as Lou went outside. She walked through this stiff landscape, carrying her cold and awkward hands. She thought about the cardboard aunt, Aunt Theodora Goodman, who was both a kindness and a darkness. Lou touched the sundial, on which the time had remained frozen. She was afraid, and sad, because there was some great intolerable pressure from which it is not possible to escape. Lou looked back over her shoulder, and ran.

<i>The Tree of Man</i> 1955 novel by Patrick White

The Tree of Man is the fourth published novel by the Australian novelist and 1973 Nobel Prize-winner, Patrick White.

<i>The Eye of the Storm</i> (novel) Novel by Patrick White

The Eye of the Storm is the ninth published novel by the Australian novelist and 1973 Nobel Prize-winner, Patrick White. It tells the story of Elizabeth Hunter, the powerful matriarch of her family, who still maintains a destructive iron grip on those who come to say farewell to her in her final moments upon her deathbed.

Dorothy was breathless with resentment for what she herself could no more than half-remember, had perhaps only half discovered - on the banks of the Seine? in dreams? as part of that greatest of all obsessions, childhood? and how could Elizabeth Hunter have got possession of anything so secret? Only Mother was capable of slicing in half what amounted to psyche, then expecting the rightful owner to share.

Elena Asenina of Bulgaria was an empress consort of Nicaea, married to Theodore II Laskaris. She was daughter of Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Asen II and Anna Maria of Hungary.

<i>Poor Fellow My Country</i> Novel by Xavier Herbert

Poor Fellow My Country is a Miles Franklin Award-winning novel by Australian author Xavier Herbert. At 1,463 pages, it is the longest Australian work of fiction ever written, and the longest single-volume novel to have been written in the English language. Poor Fellow My Country won the 1976 Miles Franklin Literary Award, Australia's most prestigious such award. It was Herbert's final novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highbury, Centennial Park</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Highbury is a heritage-listed residence located at 20 Martin Road in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Centennial Park in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by William Nixon and built from 1912 to 1913. Highbury was the home of Australian novelist Patrick White for approximately twenty-six years, until his death in 1990. It is also known as the Patrick White House; Patrick White's House. The property is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 19 November 2004.

References