Carmel Shute reports.
Over 140 Sisters in Crime and Brothers-in-Law gathered at the Hotel Windsor’s Grand Ballroom on Sunday (28/9) for Fabulous, feisty, fun & Phryne to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Kerry Greenwood. Kerry was a founding member, author of more than fifty novels, a book of short stories, six non-fiction works, and the editor of two collections of crime writing. She was also a crusading barrister, a friend, and a mentor to many. Some fans travelled from interstate for the occasion.
It was a grand location and a grand occasion. Almost everyone was ‘frocked up for Phryne’ – or ‘suited up’, as the case may be. As the host of the event, Sisters in Crime’s Ambassador Sue Turnbull remarked, Kerry would have been proud, and jealous she could not be there.
And the High Tea was also grand – petit fours, ribbon sandwiches, scones, jam and cream – washed down with French champagne, tea and coffee.
Sisters in Crime thought a High Tea at The Hotel Windsor, now 142 years old, was the perfect way to celebrate the life and legacy of our beloved Kerry. Phryne Fisher stayed there for the duration of Cocaine Blues (1999), the first novel in Kerry’s Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries series, and was a regular visitor after that. The hotel was also used as a location for various interior scenes in the TV series to capture the elegance and grandeur of the 1920s’ setting. It was also a favourite haunt of Kerry and her partner, David Greagg, the registered wizard, who was an honoured guest at the ceremony.
Sue Turnbull hosted two short panels – one on Kerry’s books and the other on the adaptation of Kerry’s work to the screen.
On the Book Panel, Sue Hines, who was publishing director at Allen & Unwin for many years, recounted how she started out at McPhee Gribble and in 1988 came across a manuscript by Kerry in the slush pile. She was taken by her female character, a fabulous swashbuckling highway woman.
“When I talked to Hilary McPhee about it, she said that because it was set in England in the 18th century, it was not a good fit when cultural nationalism was at its height. I said it was too good to just let go and invited Kerry into the office to talk about her work. I suggested she might try moving her gutsy heroine to Melbourne in the 1920s and, lo and behold, Phryne sprang into being before me from Kerry’s fabulous imagination.”
Sue’s suggestion changed the course of Australian women’s mystery fiction.
Lindy Cameron, author, founding member of Sisters in Crime, and its current Vice-President, published Kerry’s ancient Egyptian novel Out of the Black Land, her Greek Delphic Women Trilogy, Medea, Cassandra and Electra, and Herotica, a collection of homo-erotic short stories through her company Clan Destine Press. They were also great friends.
“I started Clan Destine Press primarily to re-publish Kerry’s Delphic Women series and was lucky enough to also be entrusted with her fabulous Egyptian novel, and her erotic-romance collection. The biggest thrill of all for me, though, was getting to co-write two short stories with Kerry, where we played together in the fictional worlds of Sherlock Holmes and War of the Worlds.”
Katherine Kovacic, creator of the Alex Clayton art dealer murder mystery series, wrote the screen-to-page adaptation of Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Just Murdered (2021), the television spin-off of the Miss Fisher series.
“When I met Kerry in 1994, I was already a Miss Fisher fan. It would be a couple of decades before my first crime novel was published, but Kerry and Miss Fisher were there for me the whole way. Doing the screen-to-page adaptation of Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries received the highest possible honour: the Kerry Greenwood seal of approval,” she said.
Sue Turnbull spoke to Marion Boyce, Elizabeth Coleman, & Robert Perkins OAM about the adaptation of Kerry’s work to the screen, following a video of Kerry commenting on the set for the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and the trailer for the film, Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020).
Marion Boyce is an internationally renowned costume designer working across film, television, and public exhibitions. She has won numerous awards, here and abroad, including two Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards for Best Costume Design in Television for Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Series 2 and 3. Marion has also designed several touring exhibitions, including Miss Fisher Series 2 and 3.
Marion recounted how she had to manage Phryne’s exquisite wardrobe with a very small budget. The crowd was in awe of her designs. She said that “my signature lies in turning garments into narrative devices – infusing character arcs with texture, colour and period authenticity”. She achieved that in spades, we reckon, with Miss Fisher.
Elizabeth Coleman is an author, playwright, and screenwriter who contributed to every season of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries.
She said that her favourite experience was writing the Phryne Christmas special, Murder Under the Mistletoe – largely because she spent several fun hours with Kerry devising murders to match The Twelve Days of Christmas. “There was only time for five murders in the episode, so I still have seven murders up my sleeve!”
The third panellist, Robbie Perkins OAM, is an artist and production designer for film and TV who created the sumptuous ‘look’ of both the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries series (2012–2015) and the film, Miss Fisher and The Crypt of Tears(2020).
“The intriguing stories of a beautiful female detective appealed to my romantic side, while the opportunity to immerse myself designing for the fabulous world of the 1920s, was a dream come true , due to the magical words of our beloved Kerry,” he said.
Thanks to the amazing generosity of Allen & Unwin, the first prize in the raffle comprised all 23 Phryne Fisher books plus all six Corrina Chapman books. The lucky winner was Ballarat resident, Tylene Green, who also won the Immortalised in Fiction prize, kindly donated by David Greagg. This means Tylene’s name goes into the next and final Corrina Chapman book, The Ghost Train.
Second prize, the Delphic Women Trilogy & Out of the Blackland, kindly donated by Clan Destine Press, was won by Martina Smythe, resplendent in a black and red headdress.
Third prize, three anthologies featuring stories by Kerry Greenwood, also donated by Clan Destine Press, went to Anne Goodwin.
Fourth prize of Phryne Fisher memorabilia – earrings, a makeup mirror, lens cloth & tea towel – kindly donated by Every Cloud Productions, the maker of the television series and film, went to Heather Youl.
Former convenor, Leslie Falkiner-Rose, conducted the auction of a Phryne hat donated by Marion Boyce and then the Kerry Detective Hat, donated by David Greagg. Leslie has just retired, and we think auctioneering could be her new calling as she managed to extract $800. The Phryne hat, which was worn in the episode set in Queenscliff and based on Dead Man’s Chest, went to Sally O’Connor.
David said that Philip Marlowe Detective Hat was Kerry’s headwear of choice, worn when plots were to be plotted, villains unmasked, or cocktails to be sampled. Chele Cooper was the successful bidder, and she presented it to her wife, a very happy Lindy Cameron.
There was a lot of happiness on Sunday, but it was tempered by much sadness.
The ceremony closed with a huge cheer for Kerry and all the pleasure she has brought into our lives – and will continue to do so.
Special thanks to the three brothers-in-law who helped me with photographing the event – Stan Kisler, David Nash, and Dan Rotman.