Hens lay, people lie: a novel and an exegesis: beyond epistolarity: the warp, the weft and the loom

This thesis is comprised of two components: 'Hens Lay, People Lie', a novel, and an exegesis, Beyond Epistolarity the Warp, the Weft and the Loom. Together they propose that 'creative epistolarity', namely imaginative writing with factual material, including personal letters, emails and journals, provides women with a safe space where knowledge can be intuited, articulated or performed. In this space, women find their own creative voice, write their stories and in turn, understand themselves.'Hens Lay, People Lie' draws heavily on the epistolary genre but aims to move beyond that genre by using an auto/biographical and creative epistolary style better suited to reveal emotion and character. The novel illustrates that creative epistolarity intersects with feminism and postmodernism and is uniquely placed to empower women to write their stories. The exegesis discusses theories, methodologies, fictional techniques and creative decisions made during the writing of the novel. Key writerly choices are examined: the choice of an epistolary novel and the importance of creative epistolarity as a way of knowing the self as well as production of knowledge. The research process is practice-led research informed by personal correspondence and personal history in the autoethnographic mode. The exegesis presents a reflective examination of existing works in the genre of epistolary fiction and calls on the practices of exponents of the epistolary form such as Elizabeth Jolley, Nancy Turner and Lionel Shriver. It also provides an evaluation of the relationship between the artefact and diverse critical theories ranging from Hélène Cixous’ écriture féminine, Carolyn Ellis' concept of autoethnography, and Margaretta Jolly’s discussions on epistolarity. The thesis demonstrates that narratives of women's experience have the capacity to challenge metanarratives and instigate social, cultural and political change.