A novel that celebrates the small things in life, by a fresh Australian voice.
'beautiful and absorbing' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
It's the summer of 1971, not far from the stone-fruit capital of New South Wales, where Mr Wigg lives on what is left of his family farm. Mrs Wigg has been gone a few years now and he thinks about her every day. He misses his daughter, too, and wonders when he'll see her again.
He spends his time working in the orchard, cooking and preserving his produce and, when it's on, watching the cricket. It's a full life. Things are changing though, with Australia and England playing a one-day match, and his new neighbours planting grapes for wine. His son is on at him to move into town but Mr Wigg has his fruit trees and his chooks to look after. His grandchildren visit often: to cook, eat and hear his stories. And there's a special project he has to finish . . .
It's a lot of work for an old man with shaking hands, but he'll give it a go, as he always has.
that warm feeling . . . of what is right and good about the world overwhelmed me on closing this book. - BOOKS + PUBLISHING
beautiful and absorbing - SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
resonantly powerful at every bite...Just beautiful. - THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY
Beautifully crafted and brimming with warmth. - WHO WEEKLY
captures the pleasures of a simple country life - VOGUE
Inga Simpson gives readers a character so realistic ... that it's hard to believe he's a work of fiction. - HERALD SUN
Captivates to the end - GOOD READING
A tender story - COUNTRY LIFE
5 Minutes With ... Inga Simpson
UNDERSTORY by Inga Simpson | About her favourite nature place to write
UNDERSTORY by Inga Simpson | About her writing technique for her memoir
UNDERSTORY by Inga Simpson | About her love for the Ironbark Tree
UNDERSTORY by Inga Simpson | About her new book UNDERSTORY
Inga Simpson (Part 4) | #PassionShared
Inga Simpson (Part 3) | #PassionShared
Inga Simpson (Part 2) | #PassionShared
Inga Simpson (Part 1) | #PassionShared
UNDERSTORY by Inga Simpson | About her favourite nature place to write
UNDERSTORY by Inga Simpson | About her writing technique for her memoir
UNDERSTORY by Inga Simpson | About her love for the Ironbark Tree
UNDERSTORY by Inga Simpson | About her new book UNDERSTORY
Inga Simpson (Part 4) | #PassionShared
Inga Simpson (Part 3) | #PassionShared
Inga Simpson (Part 2) | #PassionShared
Inga Simpson (Part 1) | #PassionShared
Inga Simpson began her career as a professional writer for government before gaining a PhD in creative writing. In 2011, she took part in the Queensland Writers Centre Manuscript Development Program and, as a result, Hachette Australia published her first novel, Mr Wigg, in 2013. Nest, Inga's second novel, was published in 2014 and was longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize and shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal. Inga's third novel, the acclaimed Where the Trees Were, was published in 2016.
Inga was awarded the final Eric Rolls Prize for her nature writing and has obtained a second PhD, exploring the history of Australian nature writers. Inga's account of her love of Australian nature and life with trees, Understory, was published in 2017. Her first book for children, The Book of Australian Trees, illustrated by Alicia Rogerson, was published in 2021. The Last Woman in the World, her critically acclaimed environmental thriller, was published in 2021 and shortlisted for the 2022 Fiction Indie Book Award. Her bestselling and critically acclaimed 2022 novel Willowman was shortlisted for the BookPeople Adult Fiction Book of the Year 2023 and in 2024 was selected by Australia's leading booksellers in BookPeople's 100 Must-Read Australian Novels.
Inga lives on the New South Wales south coast among trees.