Fourth EstateKirsten Tranter's first novel, The Legacy, is a worthy inclusion in the Miles Franklin longlist. As someone who grew up in Sydney and lived in New York for 8 years, she is well able to give a local feel to these twin settings of the story. At its heart there is a compelling mystery - what indeed happened to Ingrid whose unexpected inheritance plunges her into marriage with a New York art dealer. At first her friends back home struggle to cope with her departure but when she disappears on 9/11, they fear for the worst. There is a Brideshead Revisited feel to the early part of the book which is a perfect couterpoint to the mounting tension that follows. Tranter's own experience of New York at this tragic time adds weight and insight to her tale.
