Finding Eliza: Power and Colonial Storytelling by Larissa Behrendt – Book Review
Eliza Fraser’s story is one hell of a tale. No doubt you’ve heard it before: young woman shipwrecked off the Queensland coast in the 1836, long days at sea in an open boat, cast ashore on a large island inhabited by Aboriginal savages, husband killed and Eliza rescued from ‘a fate worse than death’ just…
My History by Antonia Fraser – Book Review
Privilege is relative, isn’t it. As long as there is someone wealthier, smarter or better-off than you, then it’s hard to consider yourself privileged. Even when you most certainly are. English biographer Antonia Fraser DBE is something of a paragon. Her biographies are best sellers (Mary Queen of Scots) that get made into movies by…
Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot by Mark Vanhoenacker – Book Review
Many consider aeroplane travel to be the necessary evil that gets us from here to there. This is even more true for Australians, who usually have so very far to fly before they arrive at another place. But for Mark Vanhoenacker, the flight is the best part. Flying is his joy and, as it happens,…
Best reads of 2015
Not the best reads, mind you. Simply my best reads for 2015. Which may or may not include books published before 2015. My blog, my rules! It’s great to be a despot…. Now to set the scene, you’ll have to imagine the red carpet, the glorious frocks and the tedious speeches… The nominees for my…