For the first time in one volume: the bestsellers GREAT PIONEER WOMEN OF THE OUTBACK and HEROIC AUSTRALIAN WOMEN.
Providing inspiration for today's women, in this book of profiles, Susanna de Vries examines what it takes to be a truly heroic Australian. Women of grit and courage, women of integrity, resilience and resourcefulness: the 21 individuals whose stories make up tHE COMPLEtE BOOK OF HEROIC AUStRALIAN WOMEN were a rare breed. they faced different tests - harshness as pioneers in outback Australia; the turmoil of war - but when encountering adversity, even death, each proved her mettle. From Olive King, who saved countless lives in the war-ravaged Balkans, to Vivian Bullwinkel, who survived the Bangka Island Massacre only to endure three tragedy-filled years in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, to Jeannie Gunn, who turned her experiences of hostile outback conditions into a classic book, We of the Never-Never, these are women who displayed extraordinary determination in often terrible circumstances. the 21 women are: Georgiana Molloy, Frances ('Fanny') Bussell, Elizabeth ('Bessie') Bussell, Charlotte Cookworthy Bussell, Emma Mary Withnell, Atlanta Hope Bradshaw, Jeannie Gunn OBE, Evelyn Maunsell, Catherine Langloh Parker, Myrtle Rose White, Olive May Kelso King, Dr Agnes Elizabeth Lloyd Bennett, Dr Lilian Violet Cooper, Sister Alice Elizabeth Kitchen, Joice NanKivell Loch, Sister Sylvia Muir, Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, Sister Joyce tweddell, Sister Betty Jeffrey, Mavis Parkinson, and Sister Frances May Hayman.
(From 'Blue Ribbons Bitter Bread') SUSANNA DE VRIES is an art historian who has now retired from lecturing at the Continuing Education Department of the University of Queensland. She was born in London and attended the Sorbonne in Paris and the University of Madrid. She came to Australia in 1975, has been the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship and has written extensively on art history, both here and abroad. She was made a member of the Order of Australia in 1996 'for services to Australian and European art'. In addition to writing Blue Ribbons Bitter Bread, which has won several awards, Susanna is the author of the following books: Historic Brisbane and its Early Artists; Historic Sydney—the Founding of Australia; Pioneer Women, Pioneer Land; The Impressionists Revealed; Conrad Martens on the 'Beagle' and in Australia; Ethel Carrick Fox—Travels and Triumphs of a Post-Impressionist; Strength of Spirit—Pioneering Women of Achievement from First Fleet to Federation and Strength of Purpose—Australian Women of Achievement; part-author of Parenting Girls with Dr Janet Irwin. For HarperCollins she has written a four-volume paperback series on Great Australia Women. Volumes One and Two have now been reissued as a double volume titled Great Australian Women, 36 Women who Changed Australia, and Volume Three Heroic Australian Women in War [HarperCollins, 2004]. Volume Four is titled Great Women of the Outback [HarperCollins 2005]. Together with her husband, Jake de Vries she has written the illustrated book Historic Brisbane—Convict Settlement to River City [published by Pandanus Press] and To Hell and Back, the banned account of Gallipoli.
(From 'Royal Mistresses') Susanna de Vries was born and raised in England and now divides her time between Australia and Europe. She is the author of a dozen biographies of women and three books of art history.
As an adopted child, the product of a liaison between a married aristocrat and his married mistress, she was drawn to research this complex topic and the result was Royal Mistresses.
Educated at St George’s Ascot, Berkshire Susanna studied art history and literature in Paris and Madrid. She undertook post-graduate study in Florence and on a Churchill Fellowship was allowed to conduct research in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. She received an Order of Australia (AM) for ‘services to art and literature’ and an award for a distinguished contribution to literature by the Australian Society of Women Writers. She has retired from lecturing at university but is an approved lecturer for the Australian branch of NADFAS, the Fine and Decorative Art Society.
Susanna became interested in effects of arranged marriages between cousins, a usual practice among royal families and the genetic and psychological effects when her first husband worked in the Department of Clinical Psychiatry headed by Professor Sir Martin Roth, a respected psychiatrist consulted by several members of the royal family and came to Australia when her late husband was appointed professor at the Medical School of the University of Queensland.
Absolutely gripping read about some amazing Australian Women who supported our troops during WW1 and WW2. Amazing resilience. None of these women I had ever heard of! Why are we not teaching about these women in history lessons at school???
I only read the first section on Australian pioneering women owing to time constraints and it being a book club book. The book gives a vivid idea of what those pioneering women faced, the hardships, desolation, and unbelievable deprivations they faced. My admiration for those women has increased fourfold. I was encouraged to read that in their interactions with the Aborigines, they treated them as equals and gained their respect. Well researched and written.