Book description

Henry Handel Richardson has been celebrated for her classic Australian novels The Getting of Wisdom and The Fortunes of Richard Mahony yet her own life-story is still to be fully told. Thisenthralling book provides the first complete biography of the enigmatic Australian literary icon andsheds new light on the conjecture surrounding her life. Many crucial issues bearing on Richardson'sprivate life remain unresolved. Was she drawn to lesbianism? Did she fear she had contractedcongenital syphilis? What was her relationship with her radical, reformist sister Lil?

This book follows Richardson's life from her childhood through to her musical studies in Leipzig and meetingwith her future husband. Her abandonment of music, her relationship with her sister Lillian and thefeminist influences on her life and works. Richardson's poltergeist experiences are explored, as arethe sudden effects of fame and her attitude to Australian writing.

About the Author

Dr. Michael Ackland is a reader andlecturer in the English Department at Monash University. The author ofmany books of Australian Poetry and Prose including Charles Harpur: Selected Poetry andProse, Henry Kendall and A Sydney Sovereign. MrAckland has written many articles for literary journals.

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