Print this page Rediscovering Australian Women Writers, 1850–1950

For generations, Australian classic fiction was shaped by the 'Bulletin school': stories of rugged bushmen, mateship and the outback. Women often appeared only in the background, and the women who wrote novels were largely forgotten. Yet their stories are rich, bold and surprisingly modern. Set mostly in the cities and suburbs where most Australians actually lived, they explore love, marriage, work, money and family, often with a sharp, bittersweet edge that British romances rarely had. Despite some dated language, many of these books still speak directly to our lives today. From Catherine Helen Spence and Miles Franklin to Eleanor Dark, Christina Stead and Ruth Park, we'll meet nearly 30 remarkable writers across a century of Australian life. We'll look at their lives, plots and big themes, and compare them with the male writers of their time and with authors from Britain and North America.

This is a friendly, conversational course for book lovers of every kind. Share your own favourites, discover new ones and leave with a reading list that celebrates the women who helped tell Australia's story.

DELIVERY MODE

Face to face

COURSE OUTLINE

• 19th century: Ellen Davitt, Mary Fortune, Catherine Helen Spence, Henry Handel Richardson, Caroline Leakey, Catherine Martin, Tasma
• Turn of the century: Barbara Baynton, Ada Cambridge, Miles Franklin, Mary Gaunt, Rosa Praed, Ethel Turner, Ethel Pedley
• Between the wars: Mary Grant Bruce, Dulcie Deamer, M. Barnard Eldershaw, May Gibbs, Marie Bjelke Petersen, Katherine Susannah Prichard, Christina Stead, Kylie Tennant
• Mid 20th century: Ethel Anderson, Thea Astley, Nan Chauncey, Dymphna Cusack, Eleanor Dark, Joan Lindsay, Ruth Park 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Recount the lives and concerns of classic Australian women novelists
• Discuss the plots and themes of novels written by Australian women
• Compare the themes and quality of their work with contemporaneous Australian male writers and works from Britain and North America.