She and Her Pretty Friend

by Danielle Scrimshaw

‘another a piece of the puzzle that is unearthing women’s stories from the past ... a beautifully told history’ –  Books+Publishing

A joyous look at the history of lesbian and bisexual women in Australia – from convict times, through suffrage and liberation to today

Throughout history, women’s relationships have been downgraded and diminished. Instead of lovers, they are documented as particularly close friends; the type that made out, worked, lived, and are buried together. Besties , if you will.  She and Her Pretty Friend aims to dispel this myth. It is an exploration of women’s relationships through Australian history, each chapter centring on a specific person, couple, or time period.

With a focus on women such as Anne Drysdale, Lesbia Harford, and Cecilia John, She and Her Pretty Friend centres on stories of those who have remained obscured and less spoken of in the historical narrative. Throughout this retelling of Australian history, Scrimshaw explores how colonisation altered ideas of sexuality, how the suffrage movement in Australia created opportunities for queer women, and details her own part in creating queer history. Rather than continuing to deny a queer past, Scrimshaw encourages readers – and other historians – to open themselves to the idea that perhaps some people were more to each other than just ‘roommates’.

 

Genres: Nonfiction, LGBT, Queer, History, Lesbian, Australia

Paperback

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting exploration of the history of women loving women in Australia. While quite academic, Danielle Scrimshaw mixes her own story and the process of unravelling queer history in Australia with the fascinating stories of these women and the enduring relationships they had. A book about love through the ages and the quest to find it between history's pages.

[Cheyenne Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me forever to finish this, but that is no reflection on the book. Rather I dipped in and out of this, reading a chapter at a time in between other books.

This is an excellent history of sapphic women in Australia, from colonial times up until the 1980s or so. Each chapter focuses on one or two women, piecing together their story from newspapers, archives, and sometimes recollections. There are a few personal snippets from the author which added to the reading enjoyment.

The experience of indigenous Australians gets scant mention, although the author acknowledges this and her reasons.

An engrossing read.

[Sarah]

“The women I am fascinated by remain voiceless, leaving historians and writers to piece together their ballad” (46).

'She and Her Pretty Friend' is Danielle Scrimshaw’s debut nonfiction text. Uncovering the hidden histories of queer women in Australia and their relationships, the text dispels myths about queer identities and how history hopes to uncover it.

The thing that draws you into Scrimshaw’s writing is the sense of humour. Comical and honest, readers are invited into a space where history is able to be funny, history is able to be critiqued, and Scrimshaw will be the first to write it. I was captivated by this energy and the way that Scrimshaw offers a new voice to history that is also critical and reflexive.

“I don’t want to be boxed in to this idea of historians being straight and homophobic, and I don’t want readers to be turned off history because they think they won’t be represented” (4).

Throughout the text, readers are invited to question why women’s gender and sexual identities are ignored throughout history. We learn about historic difficulties of being unwed women not in search of a husband, and the reality of people’s reactions.

I think this is the element I enjoyed the most, the level of historiography that Scrimshaw applies to their own work. Constantly questioning the motives and reminding us that “when a historian tries to label anyone’s gender or sexual identity they will ultimately fail” (167). It’s a raw reminder of the voices and the voiceless in history. Whose story is told.

And Scrimshaw does her best to tell them. She offers voice and understand that she questions as she goes, reminding readers to consider their sources and the lack of information. Through this she also applies metaphor and meaning to the reality of queerness in Australia.

One of my favourite chapters was ‘Keeping Afloat: Harriet Elphinstone-Dick and Alice Moon’. Scrimshaw records this chapter with a softness and draws on bodies of water for fear and release for queerness. I resonated deeply with the fear and isolation, suffocation and treading water as a bisexual person with a history of only male counterparts. And I was warmed by Scrimshaw’s own connection to water, to swimming and the ocean. There is beauty in the writing.

“If, by some chance, anybody wishes to use me as a historical subject years from now, I intend on making it very easy for them to find the sources they require” (59).

Scrimshaw is fair and forward in her writing. I found it real and remarkable to read history in this way and its constant making.

‘She and Her Pretty Friend’ also explores areas that it cannot properly speak about, written by a white woman. Scrimshaw notes that it is not her voice that truly record the experiences of First Nations history, that there are stories that require further telling and research. Seeing a historian with this openness is rare, and others should be humbled by this openness. We write the histories we are allowed, but touch on the ones that are also important and platform the people that will share them. Each historian echoed within Scrimshaw’s writing is a nod to the necessity of voice, and historical recordings.

“History is not a static, lifeless thing that lies covered in dust at the back of a museum” (13).

For a debut nonfiction text, Scrimshaw has done extraordinarily well. I cannot wait to see what comes next. Congratulations, Danielle. x

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was overall excellent, though I struggled to connect with it at first due to how the author chose to approach convict history. However, it really picked up speed by the third chapter and two chapters in particular - the first being that of Dr. Lilian Cooper & Josephine Bedford, and the second the chapter on transmasculine people throughout Australian history - brought me to tears. There were several sections of this book I would have highlighted had I not been reading a library copy, and it is rare I mark or annotate my books in any way.

Overall, I am glad I stuck with this book, and I appreciated its commitment to highlighting the stories of queer Australians throughout history, as well as the author's commitment to acknowledging how much of that history ignored Black and migrant Australians.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad little read, but I much preferred 'Unnamed Desires: A Sydney Lesbian History' by Rebecca Jennings. The nature of a book like this is that it relies so much on conjecture. It also sort of makes you wonder about the ethics of prying into the lives of long-d people to speculate on their sexualities. Though I suppose that is a tricky thing to avoid when discussing lesbian history given the the intense need for secrecy in the past. This was a way better version of 'A Short History of Queer Women' by Kirsty Loehr, however, the author still seemed a little naïve at points.

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

love reading about my fellow austrabians (australian lesbians)

[Bridey Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slay

[Charbel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the snippets in the second half of the book as it travelled through queer history in Australia. I found it very enlightening to see how all the cultural queer icons like the Imperial Hotel, Oxford Street and all came to be. We owe far more to queer women than we are told!

I think she was grasping at straws in regards to trying to prove some of these historical figures were queer and in some cases, it veered almost transphobic. If her retelling of the stories of these historical figures is true, it felt that some of these individuals weren't masc lesbians, they were trans men and I just didn't feel that was really given enough attention.

Political activism of women in these times was staunch as hell, loved it!

I do respect she repeatedly stresses that she's working with what little information she has and that she did acknowledge she was making alot of assumptions.

Felt the first half of the book was weak, I didn't think her personal narratives were working well with the historical narratives she was creating

Still a good book though!

[Kaitlyn Newell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartfelt, inspiring and informative collection of essays that is speaks on some of Australia’s forgotten sapphics, and the Australian queer community’s history.

This book discusses many important issues in queer history, and how those events affected the sapphics of Australia. The author discusses everything from colonialism, the women’s suffrage movement and gay liberation — highlighting incredible (very fruity) poets, academics and feminist trail blazers of Australia’s queer history and present.

If you live in Australia, and are a queer woman or feminine presenting person, I highly recommend picking this one up.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

CAWPILE: 8.86/10
Stars: 4.5/5

An incredibly touching look into the history of queer women in Australia, particularly in Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania. I loved seeing myself and the places I know on the page in the context of queerness. Scrimshaw's prose flows well and grips you into each of the stories of the different women featured in the book.

[Diego Atterbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. Perfect blend of story telling and credible research. Incredibly thought provoking also. I commend the author for bringing the reader on the journey through detailed argument and clear thinking (not overly emotive). A great read. Thanks Danielle

[Chelsea Pinkard · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS - I don’t normally give star ratings to nonfiction books, but this is my favourite work of nonfic history I’ve read this year!!! IT’S GOT CONVICT WOMEN FROM VAN DIEMEN’S LAND, IT’S GOT MARITIME, IT’S GOT MELBOURNE HISTORY, IT’S LITERALLY GOT ALL MY FAVES

[Georgie · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. The topic was super interesting but I didn’t like how it was written - it was not quite academic and not quite an easy read, something in between. It didn’t know what it wanted to be! Really liked the topic and the large amounts of research that went into it though.

[Somerley · Rating 1 out of 5]

frustratingly myopic and poorly edited. obvious typo in the second sentence of page one. lack of attention paid to detail and vaguely TERF-y undertones throughout. highly disappointing - was really looking forward to a deep dive into australia's wlw past.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand that in some cases with history, the records are minimal, and the author keeps repeating this. Yet I found this an excuse as to why this book was so minimal.
Where were the PICTURES!!!! Surely there were pictures in some of these archives?

[Kushmir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fascinating book about the coolest queer folk!! I wish I'd learnt about them in school.

[Alex Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of stories of Australian white queer women. I have been animatedly telling friends and family about Gussie Freudenberg and Cecelia John for days. Highly recommend.

[Xanthe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous, heartfelt, and interesting.

[Mark McGowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good for what it is but I’m not a huge fan of this type of non fiction