My Gorgeous Life

by Barry Humphries

Published 26 October 1990
Dame Edna Everage, housewife and megastar, not to mention investigative journalist, social anthropologist, swami and chanteuse, describes her life and times, from her humble beginnings in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds to her marriage to Lord Norm Everage in 1946 and her subsequent rise to megastardom. More than a show-biz autobiography, more than a housewife's diary, more than a chunk of history - this is a Hymn to Life.

Women in the Background

by Barry Humphries

Published 8 January 1996
Life can't get much better for Derek Pettyfer. He's rich, famous and between wives. He's risen above his unexceptional origins in Australia to become the toast of the London stage and a top-rating television performer. With his elegant house and enviable collection of Roman glass, Derek Pettyfer is at the pinnacle of success. Next the fall. Slowly at first, then with frightening speed, Derek Pettyfer's frayed life unravels, helped by sadistic dentists, fetishistic secretaries and the ugly-spirited beautiful people who infest great cities. Barry Humphries' comic novel is about a life in a goldfish bowl, in which the goldfish happen to be piranhas.