Mr and Mrs Gould

by Grantlee Kieza

The grand story of the famous birdman John Gould and his talented wife Elizabeth, who revealed the astonishing world of Australian birds and wildlife in one of the most important naturalist expeditions in history


The extraordinary adventurers who took the beauty of Australian wildlife to the world

John Gould and his beautiful wife Elizabeth sailed into Australia on a cold spring day in 1838 prepared for the most astonishing adventure of their lives. The Goulds had travelled 20,000 kilometres and crossed three oceans from their London home to find the treasures of Australia's birdlife and showcase them to the outside world.

It had been a rough voyage over and Elizabeth had fallen pregnant again for the seventh time at just 34. There would be little rest for her in illustrating her husband's exquisite books that had made him England's celebrated 'Bird Man', and a force of nature in both science and publishing. Elizabeth had always been the anonymous wind beneath his wings, always working in his shadow, but perhaps on this voyage, with his new book The Birds of Australia she would finally receive the deserved acclaim for her work.

Gould had studied birds from the Galapagos Islands and helped his fellow naturalist Charles Darwin expound his controversial theory of evolution by natural selection. In Australia, with the help of Aboriginal guides he would admire and befriend, Gould would gaze upon a vast array of Australian wildlife which would generate huge praise - and profits. Gould was and ambitious, hard-nosed businessman, the son of a poor gardener, and scrapped and fought to overcome his station in life.

As a young taxidermist, he'd become chief 'animal stuffer' for King George IV - once climbing inside the immense corpse of the royal giraffe and preserving it for posterity - then chased fame and fortune preserving exotic birds. With his wife's beautiful drawings, he became as a lucrative publisher of books sold in Britain, Europe and America.

But he was a tough, ruthless man who drove everyone around him, including his wife. The Birds of Australia would become a landmark publication and cement the reputation of the husband and wife team forever, but tragically it was one that Elizabeth would never see.

This rollicking story of the astute Gould and his brilliant wife brings Elizabeth and her extraordinary talent to life - the woman behind the man and his fame - as well as the incredible array of Australian birds and wildlife that astonished the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Nature, Birds, Audiobook, Biography Memoir

Hardcover

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in Australia during the 1980s, I remember joining the Gould League, so when I saw this new Grantlee Keiza book, I knew I wanted to read it! It was fascinating learning about his life and his contributions to our understanding of Australian fauna, particularly birds. He was a focused, driven man, which was essential to his success, but I am not sure that I liked him as a person. He was somewhat ruthless and, at times, inconsiderate towards others.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr and Mrs Gould is the new novel out by Grantlee Kieza.

It's the biography of John and Elizabeth Gould. John was known as the famous 'Bird Man' and his wife, Elizabeth, the brilliant artist who embarked on one of the most significant expeditions in history.

It tells the story of the couples extraordinary adventures who took the beauty of Australian birds and wildlife into the world.

Starting in Spring 1838 it tells their journey to Australian waters from London and the bird and wildlife they would encounter and showcase to the world.

It's a romantic, well-written account of their lives and what they endured.

The cover and illustrations in this book are exceptional and the many birds and wildlife really stand out.

The Gouldian Finch was named by John Gould in memory of his wife, Elizabeth.

Hummingbirds also play a huge part in the story, along with parrots, honeyeaters and the eagle owl and many other bird species.

I absolutely enjoyed this wonderful new biography of Mr and Mrs Gould by Grantlee Kieza and highly recommend it.

[Gary Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodreads Review, Mr & Mrs Gould by Grantlee Kieza.

I am just loving Grantlee Kieza’s monopoly on Australian History. He writes beautiful and entertaining narrative history. A prolific historian looking to bring personalities from Australian History to the forefront of contemporary Australian readers. My own reading history of Grantlee Kieza has been histories of Flinders, Banks, Lawson and Hinkler. Amongst a plethora of other great names in Australian History. He has an ability to create and produce entertaining narrative history. Now I’m assuming that Kieza has put in the historical research, has worked the tough yards of documentation and sources. I take it on faith that he has the interest of history and his readers at heart. The biographies he has written apart from the three huge names I mentioned (because I have read them). He writes a smooth, entertaining and vivid history. You can sense that Kieza has immersed himself into the life of his subject. When I use the word ‘easy’ I do not mean that his work requires no effort, no the word ‘easy’ reinforces to me at least, how a writer and historian can take a somewhat distant historical personality and write him/her into a solid place in history. Excellent sources if one is interested in reading Kieza’s Endnotes! He does the work of at least there is a researcher working to make sure Kieza is as close as a historian can get to the ‘truth’. Despite the ambiguity of the historical narrative (any narrative) Kieza works his guts out to give the reader an informative, interesting and entertaining reading experience. Loved this book about the Gould’s who took on the world of bird classification and made a killing. From poverty to wealth and that includes sadness, family tragedies and a 19th century entrepreneurial psychopath at the coalface of hard work and disciplined industry. Great fun read. Another fantastic Grantlee Kieza history. You’ll love it. Bought from Big W Library for $28.00. Enjoy.

[Belinda Loves Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have liked this to be called Mrs & Mr Gould.

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another very interesting story by Grantlee Kieza

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brings the main characters to life by giving evidence and descriptions about their personalities and motivations, as well as their actions and achievements. A wide range of well-known characters, including Charles Darwin, John Audubon, Ludwig Leichhardt, John Fairfax, Edward Lear, etc and lesser known characters, like John Gilbert and John Bungaree. Highlights the irony of the admiration by ornithologists and other collectors for the beauty and uniqueness of the birds and other wildlife they collected, contrasted with the large-scale killing of birds and mammals for taxidermy, study and artistic reproduction.

[Robyn Bauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book extremely absorbing. I thought I knew a bit about John Gould and his bird books as I have poured over them in the reference section of the library. I did not know anything about Elizabeth Gould.
She was certainly never promoted as the real artist behind the publications. I kept wanting to get back to the book to see what would happen next.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant book. I found Mr & Mrs Gould very slow reading as it is packed with fascinating information. Gould’s contemporaries (Darwin, Lear, Gilbert and more) widen the scope of the story, forcing you to do more research.
Be prepared for a brain overload about the world of birds, books, museums and tragedies.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grantlee Kieza's biography of Elizabeth and John Gould is a captivating story, describing in detail the life and works of the pioneering naturalists (he an enthusiastic ornithologist and she a talented artist), and in particular, their trip to Australia in 1838 to document the bird and animal life there. The resulting book 'The Birds of Australia' is recognised as the first comprehensive account of the ornithology of Australia. Kieza paints a most vivid picture of John Gould through his actions, letters, other people's accounts and historical documents - and it is not always pleasant. As it was, I came to dislike this man. While he was enthusiastic and undoubtedly well-intentioned, he comes across as a bully, a tyrant, a person who thinks only of getting ahead no matter what, a user of people though charming to those he wants something from. He is alarmed at birds near extinction, but happily shoots them anyway so he can study them in depth. What alarmed me the most was his disregard for other people's feelings and the callous way he treated those people he paid to be his bird collectors, among them Edward Lear and John Gilbert, who worked tirelessly for him yet received scant mention (if at all) or thanks from him. Lear described him succinctly as ' a harsh and violent man and unfeeling for those around him'. Poor John Gilbert went on an expedition in the north of Australia to find more species of birds to please Gould and then, when he is killed, Gould takes no responsibility for sending him there and even suggests his death was his own fault. Even his wife suffered under her husband's ambitions and tireless work practices (despite having eight children while trying to complete illustrations for Gould's deadlines). He even attributed many of her works to 'J and E Gould', effectively taking credit for them. Such was the manner of this man. Wow. I even belonged to the Gould League in the 1950s when every school child held the man in awe for his environmental values. A great story with lots of interesting side facts. Kieza does his best to be even-handed in his portrayal of Gould, praising his drive and his ability to get wealthy people on side to help fund his work. The coloured reproductions of many of the birds Gould discovered are superb.

[Kimberley C · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it was thoroughly researched and full of interesting facts about our history and fascinating to see how it all came together. I learnt a lot from it. Learning not just about about Australian birds and flora and fauna of our country but around the world and seeing the famous characters, explorers, champions of their chosen fields come to life that our landmarks, infrastructure are named after was intriguing to say the least. Although I don't doubt Mr Gould's passion and drive, the more I listened to this book and the way Mr Gould treated people, the less I liked him. This is obviously no reflection on the author but it was unusual to have the main character as being someone who I disliked. He took credit for himself when it wasn't his to take. In particular when his employee John Gilbert slaved away in the wilderness of Australia for years and years risking his life to please his boss in capturing rare species and going above and beyond everyone's expectations, venturing where no white man had been before and then barely got any knowledgment, credit from his boss let alone support I was left heartbroken and frustrated. Also hearing that Mr Gould helped shape Darwins discovery of evolution but never publicly wanting to be seen supporting it believing it might affect his chances of funding showed a man of few moral values and just out for himself. I also struggled with how the story was laid out and agree with someone else's review felt like a text book, lesson in history, lots of statistics, dates and facts thrown at us and not a two dimensional story. But I am wiser for it and glad I persuaded myself to finish it. It was a fascinating time in our history and he definitely fit a lot into his life no matter what you think of him.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are few names in the Bird World as well known as John Gould. It’s disappointing that Elizabeth Gould was not so appropriately well known. This book goes some way to correcting the record of the extent and significance of the contribution of the artists who were most responsible for the acceptance of the many books Gould published. And even the bird collectors like John Gilbert were given so demeaning consideration despite his and other collectors loyalty. It was not until we are introduced to Joseph Wolfe that we are made clearly aware what some leading people in the Bird World actually thought of the man as compared to his book publishing which was outstanding but just lacked appropriate acknowledgment of artists and collectors.

I often skip what I perceive as rather boring and lengthy quotations in history and biographical books and this book is not light on for such additions. And I am left wondering about the height of George IV new love (p47) in his life being “almost a metre and a half” taller than him. Nevertheless the book provides a comprehensive reading of a famous life.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much additional detail regarding others.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book stays with you long after you put it down

[Kaija Pedler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sciencey biography written a bit like a story. John and Elizabeth Gould were responsible for naming, describing, collecting and illustrating a huge amount of Australian species (mainly birds) in the 1800s. The odd part of the book for me was the few references to Jane Austen - maybe this was meant to provide context for readers? It mostly confused me, as she's pretty irrelevant to the story. My stand out fact from the book: what we know as a rosella was originally named the rose hill parakeet!

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth especially, you are incredible and I adore you

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much history, such insight into an extraordinary partnership.

[Brenda Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kieza outlines the life of Englishman John Gould, a poor but ambitious gardener come taxidermist. At the time, the empire was exploring foreign lands and collecting exotic animals. Scientific societies were forming and museums were built. Stuffed animals were in vogue and science was in its infancy.

Having developed a taxidermist business of some number of employees, and working in one of the museums, Gould is inspired to raise money for an illustrated book of birds. His wife Elizabeth, from a more priviledged background, is an excellent illustrator and also yearns for adventure.

The first 7 chapters are often hard to follow as Kieza constantly loses the focus or plot of a chapter. Even within a paragraph the writing can bounce forward then back in time.

Further confusion is created as Kieza explores many asides of characters less well researched, some of which have obvious relevance to the lives of the couple, but many do not. Almost a chapter, for example, is devoted to Raffles, whom Gould never met.

The King's giraffe story is an interesting but sad one. It deserves its own chapter but instead disjointly straddles two. The link to Gould is not clear for some time and many of Kieza's observations about the King are irrelevant to the Goulds' story.

Kieza's writing is patchy at best. In one paragraph he mentions Gould is 19 years old twice. In two consequetive paragraphs, he repeats that 150 years has passed since a definitive illustrated book on birds was written. The writing, in general, tends to be verbose. Some sentences are very long.

Little attention is given to the Goulds' home life, or what a typical home life would or could have entailed. Kieza notes that the birth of their first son was much anticipated, but when he died "simply pressed on". Only a chapter later Elizabeth is heartbroken by the loss. Contradictions like this are common throughout.

There are clumsy turns of phrase. Gould went to work on stuffing the King's giraffe. "Having just buried his father, he took great care....". This implies "his father" is Gould's father. What relevance does "his father", or anyones else's for that matter, have to stuffing the giraffe? Better editing is needed.

The narrative improves from Chapter 7 and is easier to follow. Gould had the fortune to identify Darwin's finches from the Galapagos islands. This sparked Darwin's idea of species adaptation to changing environments. In contrast to the Church's doctrine of immutability, Darwin envisioned transmutation. Gould's role in this insight is shown to be significant, even as Gould denies all claims.

Chapter 13 of 31 and Gould takes Elizabeth, his eldest son and a few others across the world, 4 months on a ship to Australia on a 2 year expedition. The narrative improves with excellent descriptions of the voyage and collections, albeit helped by numerous original correspondence.

Almost constantly pregnant, Elizabeth stays in Hobart as a welcome guest of the Franklin's while John explores, drawing and painting. Kieza notes that her published illustrations all have John's name on them in keeping with the patriarchal fashion of the time. Kieza repeatedly states that Gould's knowledge of natural behaviour and habitat allowed his artists, including Lear and Elizabeth, accurate information for their subjects. In addition Elizabeth regards herself as a business partner.

Much is made of criticism against Gould's social climbing. This may be professional and personal jealousy, which is not explored. Gould has many friends who support him and must promote his work by visiting all potential subscribers.

Kieza repeats that Gould was a hard task master, focussed on his business. Yet his letters show his love for Elizabeth who clearly also dotes on him, as well as for his children. Kieza notes that Gould was liberal for his time, taking his wife to Australia and on expeditions.

Gilbert, who collects birds for Gould in Western Australia and Prince who manages Gould's affairs, stay loyal to him and are integral to his success. Kieza repeats that Gibert in particular works for pittance, is constantly seeking Gould's approval and writing plaintiff letters to Gould regarding his hardships.

Tragedy strikes with the untimely death of Elizabeth. Her pencil drawings and lithographs remian celebrated. There are many coloured examples in the book's centre and black and white images throughout. Passing mention is made of a book of plants containing her drawings, all of which became background for her bird plates.

More tragedy strikes within Gould's wider family as well as his collectors as he attempts to publish his book and get a return on his massive investment. The book ends with the end of Gould's life an an epilogue summarises the lives of his children and loyal supporters.

It is a well researched book, especially Gould's collecting in Australia. It includes a patchily written early life of Gould and would benefit from maps showing where his and others travels took them.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An interesting biography of John Gould (1804 - 1881) and his wife, Elizabeth, (1804 - 1841). John Gould was a prolific writer of birds and animals, as well being an excellent taxidermist, collector and self-promoter. He was a good businessman who died a rich man. Elizabeth Gould devoted her time to raising children and painting birds for her husband’s publications. She was a very good artist. Elizabeth died from puerperal fever five days after the birth of her last baby. (She gave birth to eight children).

John and Elizabeth Gould spent two years in Australia, between 1838 and 1840, with John Gould traveling extensively through Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Half of the book covers this two year period. In 1838, in Hobart, Australia, Elizabeth gave birth to a son named Franklin. Elizabeth is credited with creating at least 650 hand-colored lithographic plates for her husband’s natural history publications. John Gould’s publications feature around 3,000 hand-colored illustrations. Whilst he did not personally draw all of these, his vision and supervision were instrumental in producing the many folio volumes. He had a number of artists, including his wife, to create the illustrations.

There are a number of colored bird illustrations and other images in the book.

John Gould comes across as a hard working, astute businessman who was a frugal, somewhat unlikeable man who sometimes took credit for work that was not his own.

This book was first published in 2024.

[Debi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about Gould and his wife - and I didn’t even mind all the other superfluous details about other people and what else was happening in the world at the time which helped set the period. However, I couldn’t get over how poorly edited this book was compared to the authors of the books.
I didn’t read this, but rather listened to the audiobook version, which is probably why I recalled at least 10 different complete sentences that were unnecessarily, or perhaps accidentally repeated sometimes 3 times throughout the book - as if the author had forgotten that he had already mentioned it several chapters back. Also, the chronology is out of whack in places, where it skips ahead two years and then skips back a year only to jump forward another two years. Which was a little confusing.
As for the narrator, I realise this has nothing to do with the book itself, but I counted Elizabeth Parisi mispronounce Broughton Street at least two dozen times, among other place names, such as Gwydir, which drove me bonkers. Proper nouns should be checked for pronunciation BEFORE you start recording.

[Norrie Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Gould was known as “the Bird Man” and with his wife, Elizabeth, as illustrator, collected specimens and published superb folios in the 19th century. There are many biographies of the Goulds - both separately and together - and this one covers similar ground, but with more than half the book devoted to Australia. They spent only two years in the country, but covered a lot of territory.

Keiza’s research is comprehensive and detailed, with the added context of many historical events - such as the Napoleonic wars and the Great Exhibition. The cast of characters is large and many are brought to life through their letters and mini-biographies in the text. The book has appeal for bird lovers and historians, with its evocation of life in mid 19th century Australia and England. The coloured bird illustrations and the many other images are a fine complement to the story.
See the full review at: https://www.queenslandreviewerscollec...

[Fairgo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read several of Grantlee Kieza's biographies and rate him high very highly as an excellent historian and writer. This book attains the same high standards but my interest in buying the book was primarily to learn about the lives of Mr and Mrs Gould and they, especially Mrs Gould, are not prominent in the story. It's mostly a book about birds - birds tracked and observed in the wild and in natural history collections, birds shot and stuffed, birds drawn and prints collated to make Mr Gould's reputation and fortune. Sorry to say it all became supremely boring and I couldn't bring myself to plough on to the end. I'm sure it's a great read for taxidermists, ornithologists and conservationists but it was not for me. The narration was marred by some mispronunciations, particularly zoology the first syllable of which rhymes with 'go' and not' 'goo'. I would have to give a 5-star rating for research and writing but this is a subjective review, hence the lower ratings.

[Rosalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic coverage of the life and times of John Gould and his wife Elizabeth. Grantlee packs so much in that sometimes his sentences are overlong and convoluted. Nevertheless bear with him, as it is worth the read just for the history and exploration of early Australia; Darwin's use of Gould's discoveries; Gould's singlemindedness in collecting and describing the habitats of the fauna and his use and often misuse of those around him in order to achieve his own way and gain prestige.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, though a little florid at times. An interesting insight into the world of bird and animal collecting. Shocking amounts of wildlife killed for 'scientific' purposes. Such a shame Mrs Gould died so young, it would have been interesting to see her later drawings and paintings. I also loved reading that Edward Lear was an illustrator for Gould, as I only knew his poems previously. An interesting insight also into life in Australia in the 1800s.

[Thebroadgrumps · Rating 2 out of 5]

No I didn’t finish it. It reads like a not so well written academic thesis which has been turned into a book. Certainly not up to the reviews that I have read

[Saturday's Child · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and researched this book gives the credit to Elizabeth Gould that she is well deserving of.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an eye opener. I had never thought about how naturalists studied their subjects until now.

[Sally O'wheel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Good to know about this couple, and to appreciate their work. I liked to conservation message.

[Lauren Mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intriguing read.

The type of novel that took locations, concepts, and tidbits I was already aware of, such as the Brisbane Windmill, Gouldian Finches, Charles Darwin, and the Theory of Evolution, and contextualises them.

I feel as though ‘Mr and Mrs Gould’ by Grantlee Kieza played a game of connect the dots in my mind’s understanding of the naturalist field, and that I now have plenty more topics and questions to delve further into.

Highly recommended, particularly for other Australians.

4/5 stars.