of the Church of England. In 1930 the Society changed its name from The Cremation Society of England to The Cremation Society of Great Britain.

Since its foundation in 1874 The Cremation Society has worked to popularise the use of cremation among all branches and levels of society. Over the decades the Society has assisted and advised private companies and local authorities on the building of new crematoria at the same time as lobbying government to ease the restrictions which were preventing cremation from being readily available to all.

Today cremation accounts for about 78% of all funerals in the United Kingdom. In 2008 the Society amended its Memorandum and Articles of Association so that it could investigate alternative methods of dealing with the bodies of the dead.

The Archive ofBiography
Michelle de Kretser was born in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and emigrated to Australia when she was 14. Her first novel, The Rose Grower, was published in 1999. She has taught literature at Melbourne University and worked as an editor and a reviewer. The Hamilton Case is her second novel.

Interview
In anticipation of the 2004 Discover Great New Writers Awards, de Kretser answered a few of our questions:

What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer?
I'm terribly sorry, but I can't answer questions like this one. A huge number of books (and films, etc.) have been important to me at various stages of my life and for all kinds of reasons.

If you had a book club, what would it be reading -- and