Welcome to my author’s website. The visitor will find here my books, discussions about writing, and the processes of publishing. I also comment on happenings in the Catholic Church from a political point of view. This is in line with the themes of my writing.
The key issues of Australian society, and Western Civilization in general are the focus of my fiction and non-fiction writing. My nonfiction books describe the thread of decay running through Western Society; my novels explore that thread in an historical setting.
In fiction, I write in the genre of the historical novel. Generally, my fiction belongs to the category of the ‘Catholic Novel’ – in the same way Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, and Christopher Koch can be reckoned Catholic novelists. (See the ‘Catholic Novel’ page on my website.)
My stories deal with social, religious, and political issues, interwoven with relationships that are critical to the plot. Love relationships are an incisive way of exploring the human person. The stories take place in the second half of the twentieth century and the first decades of the 21st century.
By far, the majority of novels published in Anglophone countries assume a materialist philosophical framework. I am among a small number of novelists today assuming a metaphysical realist and natural law philosophical framework.
My non-fiction books also deal with political, religious, and social issues. My family history series is as much about the social, religious, and political aspects of Australian society as it is about my family.
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After a lifetime working in the book business (mostly educational publishing) I now concentrate on my writing.
One of my formative experiences was living in The Netherlands with my Dutch wife for two and a half years (see My Holland Experience.) On returning to Australia, I completed a major in Dutch Language and Literature before a master’s degree in philosophy. My studies and immersion in another culture and language, together with my Catholic faith, form the biggest influences on my writing. But shaping those influences are my mother and father. One could not have more principled parents.
My master’s thesis was on Edmund Burke whose thought permeates my writing. My preoccupations are social and cultural from a Catholic and (Burkean) conservative perspective. This reflects my acceptance of the Catholic idea of the reciprocal relationship between faith and reason.
My favourite fiction authors are Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Evelyn Waugh. Evelyn Waugh’s style and mastery of English have been my biggest influence – not in vain, I hope. My favourite modern non-fiction author is philosopher Roger Scruton. I spend my leisure time reading and occasionally walking along the nearby shores of Port Phillip Bay. I love opera, musicals, and the ballet (The Nutcracker is my favourite.) I enjoy fifties rock ‘n’ roll and forties big band. Mozart is my favourite classical composer, but I am acquiring a liking for Bach.
My contacts:
Email: gerard.wilson1@bigpond.com
Mobile: +61 419 002 163