The prime minister's potato and other essays

by Anne-Marie Conde

A curator's journey to uncover the stories behind everyday objects and preserve history for the common good
After thirty years confined within museum walls, a restless history curator steps out for air. In this book of essays, Anne-Marie Condé grants herself freedom to ask fresh questions about the significance of objects and places within the lives of ordinary people. Cemeteries, junk shops, war memorials. Stones and scraps and scrawls. These are where this author goes for inspiration.


Whether it's a wet greasy pavement in Hobart or a message in chalk in Condé can coax a historical narrative out of the most meagre sources. Along the way she asks why anyone would offer a potato as a gift to a prime minister? How could this humble vegetable help us think about Australia's past?


Throughout, Condé casts a patient and gently curious gaze over her subjects. Many writers are fascinated by unrecorded lives, but where there are records, Condé is sure to find them.

Genres: History

223 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 3, 2025

Reviews

[Lia Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the curator's perspective on the world, and way of asking questions. However, it is a big task to make these seemingly uninteresting historical stories relevant, and often they are not. I prefer the process of looking at an archive, rather than reading about someone else's experience doing so.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whimsical look at some Australian objects with the aim of finding out more about them, which the author does most successfully. A wonderful book which I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end. An object lesson in how to go about getting the most out of any random object. Loved it

[hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was wonderful, i laughed, i got teary- all around fabulous

[Devilish · Rating 4 out of 5]

a historian/curator's exploration of things off the beaten trail, great storytelling, interesting people