The Book of Thistles

Some plants have sustained empires and sparked wars. Some have ignited public outrage. Think tea, opium, tulips-and thistles. The word 'thistle' refers to a large and widespread group of plants. In 1852 South Australia passed its Thistle Act, probably the first weed control legislation anywhere in the world. There are several hundred species within the Asteraceae family, plus a bunch of other plants that are called thistles even though technically, botanically, they're not. Google 'thistles' and many of the sites will tell you how to get rid of them. Dig a little deeper, however, and from this weedy territory other narratives begin to emerge. Part accidental memoir, part environmental history and part exploration of the performative voice on the page, The Book of Thistles is about the cultural and social life of this group of plants we call thistles. Noëlle Janaczewska's work has been produced, broadcast, and published throughout Australia and overseas, and in 2014 she received a prestigious Windham-Campbell Prize from Yale University for her body of work as a dramatist. Her plays have won the Queensland Premier's Literary Award, the Griffin Playwriting Award, and the Playbox-Asialink Playwriting Competition. She is the recipient of 7 AWGIE Awards (3 for radio non-fiction works and 4 for drama). [Subject: Environmental History, Memoir, Literary Non-Fiction]