Jean Bedford crafts narratives that explore the complexities of identity and belonging within the Australian landscape. Her fiction, encompassing both short stories and novels, is characterized by a keen psychological insight and a precise, evocative prose style. Beyond her own writing, Bedford has played a significant role as a literary editor and critic, actively contributing to the literary community. Her extensive career, which includes teaching and editorial work, has solidified her position as an important voice in Australian literature.
Journalist Noel Baker finds a disturbing suggestion in a coroner's report that the death of young Belinda Carey may not have been at the hands of her neglectful and abusive parents, but may have connections with the deaths of other abused children. All she has is just a glimpse of a possible pattern, of things not quite as they