One for the Master

The woollen mill has closed. What was once the life-blood of a community—and the centre of Helen Sullivan’s life—lies derelict. Is this loss to be mourned? Or celebrated? In One for the Master, Dorothy Johnston vividly brings to life the hard world of the factory and its workers who endure dangerous, sometimes deadly, conditions but suffer in silence—until Helen and her unionist friend Queenie decide to record what is going on.


‘What I like most about One for the Master is its passion and its mystery.’ — Terri-ann White, Australian Book Review


‘Dorothy Johnston’s is that rare thing, a contemporary Australian novel which draws strength and resonance from one of the oldest novelistic traditions in Australian literature.’ — Ivor Indyk, The Sydney Morning Herald


First published in 1997, One for the Master was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award the following year.


Dorothy Johnston has written eleven novels, and her short stories have appeared in magazines and been included in anthologies. Her crime novel, The Trojan Dog (2000), was joint winner of the ACT Book of the Year. For more information visit www.dorothyjohnston.com.au.