KERRY GREENWOOD ‘MY WAKE-UP CALL’
WHY PHRYNE FISHER IS AS POPULAR AS EVER
Glamorous detective Phryne Fisher is back in her latest adventure, Death in Daylesford. Author Kerry Greenwood’s murder mystery books have been turned into the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries TV series and the movie, Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears. But, will her latest book make it to the big screen? Kerry tells all…
PHRYNE IS SUCH A POPULAR CHARACTER – WHY IS THAT?
Phryne is a wish-fulfilment fantasy for all of us. I am still surprised by the fact that when I began to write her, nobody had as yet thought to make a female version of Simon Templar or James Bond. By setting Phryne in the 1920s, I was able to make her convincing, because the shortage of men (caused by World War I) allowed many women the freedom to spread their wings.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE FILM, MISS FISHER AND THE CRYPT OF TEARS?
The movie was lovely. It was a beautiful piece of Indiana Jones-style non-stop adventure. The URST (unresolved sexual tension) between film/tv Jack (Nathan Page) and Phryne (Essie Davis) was never part of the world of my books, but I didn’t mind in the least. It is right for the silver screen, but not for my books.
WHEN YOU’RE WRITING A PHRYNE NOVEL, DO YOU PICTURE ESSIE AS PHRYNE?
Phryne came alive for me on the tram journey back from Mcphee Gribble’s publishing house. I felt I knew her down to her foundation garments by the time I arrived back home, and she took over my imagination. She used to wake me up in the middle of the night and send me back to my typewriter. When Essie first auditioned for the part, I knew she was Phryne at once.
DO YOU THINK YOUR LATEST NOVEL COULD BE MADE INTO A MOVIE?
It really could, not least because Jack is seconded to a crime task force in Melbourne, while Phryne and Dot go off to Daylesford. So the previous on-screen romance would not interfere with the plot. Daylesford is so beautiful that you could hardly fail at making a film there. And the plot is certainly action-packed and cinematic enough to please any producer.
• Death in Daylesford by Kerry Greenwood (Allen & Unwin, $29.99) is out November 3.