Morning Routine for Adults

During the years of the Great Depression, Cressida Morley and her eccentric family resided in a weatherboard cottage on the edge of a wild beach. Outsiders in their small working-class community, they rant, argue, read books, play music, and never feel themselves to be poor. Yet as Cressida moves beyond childhood, she begins to outgrow the place that once seemed the centre of her world. As she plans her escape, the only question is: who will she become?

The End of the Morning is the final and unfinished autobiographical novel by Charmian Clift. Published here for the first time, it is the book that Clift herself regarded as her most significant work. Although the author did not live to complete it, the typescript left among her papers was fully revised and stands alone as a novella. It is published here alongside a new selection of Clift's essays and an afterword from her biographer Nadia Wheatley.

The novel follows Cressida Morley and her family, who live on the edge of a wild beach during the Great Depression. Despite being outsiders in their small working-class community, they engage in lively discussions, read books, and play music, never feeling truly impoverished. However, as Cressida matures, she begins to outgrow the place that was once the centre of her world. As she contemplates her escape, the reader is left to wonder who she will become.

Charmian Clift's The End of the Morning is a posthumous publication, considered by the author herself to be her most significant work. Though Clift did not live to complete the novel, the revised typescript she left behind stands as a self-contained novella. This publication also includes a new selection of Clift's essays, as well as an afterword by her biographer, Nadia Wheatley, providing further insight into the author's life and work.

The narrative style of The End of the Morning is characterized by a sense of introspection and a keen eye for detail, as Cressida navigates the complexities of her family dynamics and her own personal growth. Clift's lyrical prose and insightful observations delve into the themes of identity, belonging, and the search for self-discovery.

Through the eyes of Cressida, readers are invited to explore the eccentric nature of her family and their unconventional way of life on the fringes of their small community. The novel's setting, the weatherboard cottage on the edge of the wild beach, becomes a character in itself, a place that both nurtures and constrains the Morley family.

As Cressida contemplates her future, the reader is left to ponder the choices and transformations that lie ahead for her. The End of the Morning is a poignant and introspective work that delves into the complexities of personal identity and the search for one's place in the world.

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