Stephen Downes: 10 books

'Blackie' is the heart-warming story of an unlikely friendship between Australian writer Stephen Downes and Blackie, a back-fence stray. Stephen never much liked cats. But one day, his sons Patrick and Benny find three kittens at the bottom of the garden. Two of the strays -- Blackie and Fluffy --...

The music of Gustav Mahler repeatedly engages with Romantic notions of redemption. This is expressed in a range of gestures and procedures, shifting between affirmative fulfilment and pessimistic negation. In this groundbreaking study, Stephen Downes explores the relationship of this aspect of Mahler's...

The desire to voice the artistic revelation of the truth of a precarious, multi-faceted, yet integrated self lies behind much of Szymanowski's work. This self is projected through the voices of deities who speak languages of love. The unifying figure is Eros, who may be embodied as Dionysus, Christ,...

The strange tale of America's best pianist and the Australian lipstick salesman who immortalised his genius. A compelling and surprising tale of musical passion, tragedy and revival. In his prime, William Kapell was acknowledged to be 'the greatest pianistic talent since Horowitz'. Yet his return...

More than thirty years ago a green and unsophisticated Methodist boy from Oz had to be taught how to dress his salad correctly in a tiny Paris bistro, and felt the first stirring that he could 'perhaps nurture an interest in food'. Stephen Downes, now a renowned restaurant critic, returns to the city...

The Polish composer Karol Szymanowski is one of the most fascinating musical figures of the early twentieth century. His works included four symphonies, two violin concertos, the operas Hagith and King Roger, the ballet-pantomime Harnasie, the oratorio Stabat Mater, as well as numerous piano, violin,...

In this glorious celebration of food and eating, Stephen Downes, one of Australia's foremost food critics and food writers, leads readers through the 100 food experiences they must have before they expire, based on his own culinary encounters, and his astonishing food knowledge and expertise. Some...

While rummaging in a cupboard one day, the narrator of 'Adagio for a simple clarinet' rediscovers his father's clarinet, forgotten for years on a high shelf. Finding the instrument arouses in him long-buried memories and the childhood passion for music that his father had thwarted. Unable to make...

The Muse has long been figured as a divine or erotically alluring consort to the virile male artist, who may inspire him or lead him to the edge of madness. This book explores the changing cultural expressions of the relationship between the male artist with a beloved, imagined or desired Muse, to...

Working in any area of mental health nursing presents complex issues regarding the nurse-patient relationship. For those working in prolonged clinical contact with offenders, relationships with patients and colleagues can be particularly emotionally intense and sometimes difficult to express. This...