"Sweet Angel" by Colleen McCullough, summary

This 2004 Australian novel tells the story of a young woman’s emergence into independent living in Sydney at the turn of the 1960s. The narrative is told through the personal diary of radiologist Harriet Purcell. The entries convey the daily life of Sydney’s largest hospital, the distinctive character of King’s Cross, and the heroine’s psychological maturation.

The work is an independent text by the writer and is not part of a literary series.

Moving to King’s Cross and new neighbours

Twenty-one-year-old Harriet Purcell decides to break off her engagement to David Merkison. A devout Catholic, David has earned a doctorate and eschews intimacy until marriage, limiting himself to strict instructions. Harriet lives in suburban Bronte with her parents, brothers Gavin and Peter, and grandmother. She successfully passes her technical college exams and receives a position as a senior laboratory technician at the Royal Sydney Hospital. Wanting to escape her family’s control, Harriet finds a two-bedroom flat on the ground floor of 17c Victoria Street in King’s Cross.

The building is run by the eccentric fortune teller Mrs. Delvecchio-Schwartz. The owner regularly reads wealthy clients’ fortunes using tarot cards and a crystal ball while sipping brandy. Her silent four-year-old daughter, Flo, lives with her. The girl communicates without words, displaying a rare sensitivity.

The house is home to a colorful cast of inhabitants: Chinese-born lab assistant Papele Sutama, nicknamed Pippi; the outspoken couple Jim and Bob; German engraver Klaus Müller; and Queensland artist Toby Evans. The room above Harriet is occupied by elderly teacher Harold Warner, the fortune teller’s former lover, who harbors an inexplicable hatred for the heroine.

Mrs. Delvecchio-Schwartz casts Harriet’s horoscope and predicts the arrival of a male doctor, indicated by the King of Pentacles card, in her destiny. Meanwhile, the cards repeatedly land with the grim Ten of Swords next to Harold Warner’s card. Harriet furnishes her apartment, proudly painting the walls pink. From police officer Norm of the vice squad, Harriet learns that the neighboring buildings, numbers 17b and 17d, are occupied by elite brothels.

Everyday life in traumatology and personal hobbies

At the hospital, Harriet is transferred to the second shift of the trauma unit, led by Christina Lee Hamilton. The job requires endurance in the face of severe injuries and traumatic brain trauma. In her free time, the heroine takes European cooking lessons from Klaus and organizes her home. She manages to finally kick the clingy David out of the apartment. Soon, Harriet has a brief romantic relationship with Indian doctor Nal Prarachandra, who gives her lessons in sensuality.

Harriet then develops a close relationship with senior orthopedic surgeon Duncan Forsyth, a master surgeon. Duncan is married to the selfish Katie and raising two sons, but faces a distant, aloof attitude at home. The surgeon prescribes oral contraceptives for Harriet and showers her with affection. Harriet values their closeness but refuses to be the cause of his family’s breakup and rejects Duncan’s offer of divorce.

Meanwhile, Pippi’s friend finds herself in trouble. She develops an affair with philosophy professor Ezra Sumchatti, who introduces her to hashish and cocaine. When Pippi becomes pregnant, the professor flees. Pippi attempts to abort the child using dangerous folk remedies. Harriet turns to Duncan for help, and he arranges for Pippi to be admitted to a closed country sanatorium for a safe abortion. After rescuing her friend, Harriet breaks off her relationship with Duncan, preserving her personal freedom.

New Year’s tragedy and the opening of the will

Harold Warner descends into madness and depression. He suffers from painful urinary retention, spies on Harriet, and curses her. Desperate, Harold sends anonymous libels to Harriet’s father and Duncan’s wife. Harriet harshly pressures Katie Forsyth, defending her own dignity.

On New Year’s Eve 1961, Mrs. Delvecchio-Schwartz throws a riotous party at home. On the morning of January 1st, Harriet awakens and notices little Flo’s dress is stained with blood. The girl had been dipping her fingers in the blood and drawing on the wall. Harriet runs upstairs and finds the fortune teller dead at the table. Harold Warner lies nearby, having stabbed himself in the stomach with a kitchen knife. Warner stabbed his mistress and committed suicide, fulfilling the grim prophecy of the Ten of Swords.

The police and the Child Welfare Department take Flo away. She is sent to the psychiatric ward of the Royal Infirmary, where she is tied to a bed after attempting to break her head through the glass and escape. Harriet visits the child daily and decides to seek guardianship. Officials deem the young, unmarried lab technician unfit to be a guardian. Lawyer Mr. Hush takes on the role of guardian. In a chest under the stairs, the residents find about a hundred of the deceased’s savings books, worth over one hundred and ten thousand pounds.

Reflecting on the late mistress’s words that "the fate of the House lies in the Ball," Harriet lifts the heavy crystal ball. Hidden beneath the velvet-lined wooden stand is an official will. The deceased made the document out to her only daughter, Florence Schwartz, and appointed her close friend, Harriet Purcell, as executor and guardian of the estate. The document reveals the late seer’s real name — Harriet Purcell. The elderly woman turns out to be a long-lost relative of the heroine’s family, long estranged from her own.

Housewarming and acceptance of fate

In April 1961, the will comes into effect. Harriet resigns from the hospital, takes Flo from the clinic, and assumes control of 17c and its neighboring buildings. Together with her brothers Fritz and Otto Werner, Klaus, Pippi, and artist Toby Evans, Harriet carries out a major renovation of the house, installing plumbing and removing the gas meters. Harriet charges the owners of the upscale brothels at 17b and 17d four hundred pounds a week for their rent.

Harriet takes on the role of King’s Cross’s new fortune teller, accepting wealthy clients with the help of Flo, who begins painting on walls again. A close, warm relationship develops between Harriet and Toby Evans. Harriet achieves financial independence, raises her beloved child, and feels complete harmony.