This House of Grief

PRIZES: Winner of Ned Kelly Awards for Australian Crime Writing: Best True Crime Category 2015. Shortlisted for Australian Independent Booksellers Indie Awards: Non-Fiction 2015. Long-listed for Stella Prize 2015.

Dua Lipa's Book Club Pick for August 2025 One of the Guardian 's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century 'A true-crime classic and literary masterpiece' ANNE ENRIGHT 'Bears comparison with In Cold Blood ' KATE ATKINSON 'It grabbed me by the throat' GILLIAN ANDERSON 'Sharp and forensic' DUA LIPA Father's Day, 2005. Just after nightfall, a discarded husband was driving his three young sons back to their mother's house. On that dark country road, barely five minutes from home, the old white car swerved off the highway and plunged into a dam. The father freed himself and swam to the bank, but the car sank to the bottom, and all the children drowned. The court case that followed became Helen Garner's obsession, one that would take over her life until its final verdict. The resulting book, This House of Grief , is a true crime classic and literary masterpiece, which examines just what we are capable of and how fiercely we hide it from ourselves. A W&N Essential with an introduction by Rachel Cooke

Dua Lipa's Book Club Pick for August 2025 One of the Guardian 's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century 'A true-crime classic and literary masterpiece' ANNE ENRIGHT 'Bears comparison with In Cold Blood ' KATE ATKINSON 'It grabbed me by the throat' GILLIAN ANDERSON 'Sharp and forensic' DUA LIPA Father's Day, 2005. Just after nightfall, a discarded husband was driving his three young sons back to their mother's house. On that dark country road, barely five minutes from home, the old white car swerved off the highway and plunged into a dam. The father freed himself and swam to the bank, but the car sank to the bottom, and all the children drowned. The court case that followed became Helen Garner's obsession, one that would take over her life until its final verdict. The resulting book, This House of Grief , is a true crime classic and literary masterpiece, which examines just what we are capable of and how fiercely we hide it from ourselves. A W&N Essential with an introduction by Rachel Cooke

The New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice - The engrossing true-crime classic from one of Australia's most acclaimed writers, that follows a man and his broken life, a community wracked by tragedy, and the long and torturous road to closure -" This House of Grief , in its restraint and control, bears comparison with In Cold Blood ."--Kate Atkinson, author of Big Sky and Shrines of Gaiety On the evening of Father's Day, 2005, separated husband Robert Farquharson was driving his three young sons back to their mom's house when the car veered off the road and plunged into a dam. Farquharson survived the crash, but his boys drowned. Was this a tragic accident, or an act of revenge? The court case that followed became a national obsession--a macabre parade of witnesses, family members, and the defendant himself, each forced to relive the unthinkable for an audience of millions. In This House of Grief , celebrated writer Helen Garner tells the definitive and deeply absorbing story of it all, from crash to final verdict. Through a panoply of perspectives, including her own as a member of the public, Garner captures the exacting procedure and brutal spectacle of Australia's criminal justice system. The result is a richly textured portrait--of a man and his broken life, of a community wracked by tragedy, and of the long and torturous road to closure. Considered a literary institution in Australia, Helen Garner's incisive nonfiction evokes the keen eye of the New Journalists. Brisk, candid, and never dismissive of its flawed subjects, This House of Grief is a masterwork of literary journalism.

The New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice - The engrossing true-crime classic from one of Australia's most acclaimed writers, that follows a man and his broken life, a community wracked by tragedy, and the long and torturous road to closure -" This House of Grief , in its restraint and control, bears comparison with In Cold Blood ."--Kate Atkinson, author of Big Sky and Shrines of Gaiety On the evening of Father's Day, 2005, separated husband Robert Farquharson was driving his three young sons back to their mom's house when the car veered off the road and plunged into a dam. Farquharson survived the crash, but his boys drowned. Was this a tragic accident, or an act of revenge? The court case that followed became a national obsession--a macabre parade of witnesses, family members, and the defendant himself, each forced to relive the unthinkable for an audience of millions. In This House of Grief , celebrated writer Helen Garner tells the definitive and deeply absorbing story of it all, from crash to final verdict. Through a panoply of perspectives, including her own as a member of the public, Garner captures the exacting procedure and brutal spectacle of Australia's criminal justice system. The result is a richly textured portrait--of a man and his broken life, of a community wracked by tragedy, and of the long and torturous road to closure. Considered a literary institution in Australia, Helen Garner's incisive nonfiction evokes the keen eye of the New Journalists. Brisk, candid, and never dismissive of its flawed subjects, This House of Grief is a masterwork of literary journalism.