Play of Shadows

Kathryn Purnell was born in Vancouver, Canada in 1911. She travelled to Australia as a young woman, later living also in Paris, Cairo and Jakarta.Kathryn embodied the soul and spirit of a creative writer. She maintained an intense interest in both the natural and spiritual worlds, the everyday and the eternal, diverse countries and their cultures, as well as the human condition (of which she had an uncanny understanding). A gifted educator, she was an inspiration to many. Her writings, both poetry and prose, reveal these understandings.Kathryn's awards include The Alice Award, a biennial award for long-term and distinguished contribution to literature by an Australian woman. Other awards included the State of Victoria Short Story Award, the Moomba Short Story Prize and The Society of Women Writers Poetry Prize.

These short stories were written during the nineteen-fifties while Kathryn was living in Jakarta. This was a time of change in Indonesia as the shackles of colonialism were left behind and the challenges of independence were addressed. The stories touch on life and culture from many different angles, presenting a poignant expression of love for the country and its people.