Jane Harper: The Dry author sells St Kilda apartment where she penned bestseller
Jane Harper has sold the St Kilda apartment where she penned The Dry.
Author Jane Harper has sold the St Kilda apartment where she dreamt up her best-selling whodunit, The Dry.
The former Herald Sun journalist became a household name in 2016 after the release of the thrilling debut novel, which is set in the fictional outback Australian town of Kiewarra.
A creative backdrop for Harper’s first three books, the beachfront 2/43-44 Marine Parade abode sold prior to auction last week for $725,000, $55,000 above reserve.
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The quaint apartment was where Harper penned three of her books.
The balcony was Harper’s “favourite writing spot”.
Jane Harper with Eric Bans and Jodi Matterson at the premiere of The Dry at Pentridge Palace Cinemas. Picture: Tim Carrafa
Belle Property agent William Johnson said Harper was “over the moon” with the sale of the apartment, which he previously called a slice of “literary history”.
He said a lucky first-home buyer whose grandmother lived across the road had walked away with the keys.
Harper purchased the home with husband Peter Strachan in 2014.
But after The Dry grabbed worldwide attention — including a deal with Reese Witherspoon’s production company for a film starring Eric Bana, released this year — the couple and their two children decided to trade up.
The book’s main character, Aaron Falk, also calls the suburb home, which Harper said was “heavily based on myself living in St Kilda”.
“On nice days I used to sit out on the balcony with my laptop, over the water. That was my favourite writing spot,” Harper told the Herald Sun last month.
The Dry by Jane Harper.
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The apartment has been dubbed a “piece of literary history” by the agents.
The property has two bathrooms.
Harper and her husband moved out of the property in 2019, after having their second child.
The author, who is working on her fifth novel set to be released in 2022, said she wrote the book in her spare time and on weekends with “no expectation at all that it would go anywhere or get published”.
She added that her family had enjoyed trips to Luna Park and spending time at the beach while living at the apartment.
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