Sophie Cunningham is the author of eight books including her recent collection of essays, City of Trees and has written both fiction and nonfiction, for adults and children. She has a passion for trees, walking and broader environmental issues, and every day she posts an image of a tree on her Instagram @sophtreeofday. A stalwart of the Australian literary scene, Sophie also works as a writing teacher and was a co-founder of The Stella Prize, former editor of Meanjin, and former chair of the Literature Board of the Australia Council. She lives in Melbourne.
‘This Devastating Fever is remarkable: a thrillingly original, deeply emotional exploration of the complex echoes of history set in the shadow of the looming catastrophe of the future. Sinuous, strange, utterly compelling, it is like no other book you’ll read this year.’ -- James Bradley, author of Ghost Species and The Resurrectionist ‘Brilliant and unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It draws on archived letters and diary entries and the edges of what is real and what is imagined are delightfully blurred. It’s sharply layered, clever and darkly, dryly hilarious.’ -- Eliza Henry-Jones, author of Salt and Skin and In the Quiet ‘A book of big ideas that reads as a page turner. I was thrilled to keep returning to the page.’ -- Kate Mildenhall, author of Skylarking and The Mother Fault ‘This Devastating Fever contains the joy and pain and terror of caring deeply for another living thing: whether a loved one whose mind is failing, or cicadas destined to be incinerated in the Black Summer fires. It is also about the need to read carefully, write carefully, and think carefully – about the past and how we respond to it, and about what we owe the dead, the living, and the future.’ * The Conversation * ‘This Devastating Fever feels a bit like a blast from the past and in the best way possible.’ * The Urban List * ‘I can honestly say this isn’t like any book I have ever read before, yet couldn’t put down.’ * RUSSH * ‘This Devastating Fever is an extraordinary achievement.’ * Kill Your Darlings *