- Published: 17 March 2020
- ISBN: 9781760893606
- Imprint: Penguin
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $22.99
The Place on Dalhousie

















- Published: 17 March 2020
- ISBN: 9781760893606
- Imprint: Penguin
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 288
- RRP: $22.99
I can’t remember when I’ve loved a book so much. It really touched my heart.
Amanda Keller
Melina Marchetta’s novel is an optimistic and warm-hearted love story about family and friends and the importance of both. The book covers miles of ground in this contemporary tale and the dialogue rings true and is often funny with Marchetta’s experience as a screenwriter showing in every line.
The Age / Sydney Morning Herald
Funny, sad and wonderful. A tale full of heart that is as much about what separates us as what draws us together. Storytelling at its best and purest, casually, breezily told, yet wielding immense emotional power – I loved it . . . It will fill my heart forever.
Better Reading
From the netball court, to the pram-obstructing cafes, to the home on Dalhousie and the neighbourhood and beyond, the book bustles with vitality. It’s Marchetta’s love letter to support systems that mend the broken.
The Weekend Australian
One of my favourite books of the year . . . Hard to put down, impossible to forget, The Place on Dalhousie is one of those precious books you don’t want to end.
Simon McDonald, https://writtenbysime.com/
Melina Marchetta is one of Australia’s finest storytellers, no matter what genre she turns her hand to. This is a story about the families we are born into and the families we create. Marchetta’s characters are flawed yet loveable and beautifully drawn.
Librarians’ Choice (April 2019 Favorite Pick)
Quite simply, I think Marchetta is one of the best storytellers we have in Australia.
Bronte Coates, Readings
With The Place on Dalhousie, Marchetta proves she is one of our best writers of contemporary human drama . . . Marchetta’s work radiates hope . . . In a world that can feel dark and cynical, this beautiful book is the perfect antidote.
Jackie Tang, Readings
This is wonderful storytelling – full of humour, tenderness and honesty.
Debra Oswald
Marchetta cleaves to nostalgia and serendipity in a manner that is more admissible in adolescent literature, but she also retains those formative reading experiences’ pure pleasures: page-turning compulsion, cathartic sentimentality and the satisfaction of hopeful endings so rarely bestowed in the adult world.
The Saturday Paper
I adored this wonderful, big-hearted book . . . It’s so absolutely flawless you almost want to applaud!
Sarah McDuling, https://www.booktopia.com.au/blog/2019/03/05/review-place-on-dalhousie-melina-marchetta/
The Place on Dalhousie – just like the two companion books that came before it – is what happens when someone who is smart and intuitive about human nature and the nuances of relationships also happens to be an amazing writer. Marchetta just knows how to get under your skin, how to elicit emotions without being over-sentimental or trite. She writes deep painful emotions, creates a sharp sense of loneliness, out of the most simple of encounters and interactions.
Emily May, Goodreads (5-star review)
Melina Marchetta writes masterfully about messy relationships, whether they are familial or romantic, and her new novel is no exception . . . The Place on Dalhousie is a big-hearted book that addresses grief, new motherhood and finding and defining your own family [that] is bound to be loved . . .
Ellen Cregan, Books and Publishing
The Place on Dalhousie is a novel that handles a lot of different topics with a deft touch. There are: secrets, forging connections, grief, loss, friendship, and identity, and Marchetta packs a lot into this easy, breezy read. The Place on Dalhousie ultimately makes you want to pop around to your neighbours for a tea and a biscuit, so that you can all bond over your deepest and darkest.
The AU Review