Wright, Clare: Forgotten rebels of Eureka

Wright, Clare

The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, Text Publishing, Melbourne, 2013

Tells the stories of the thousands of women on the Ballarat goldfields, the crucial role they played in the Eureka rebellion and the links between what they did and later battles for female suffrage. ‘At last an Australian foundation story where women are not only found, but are found to have played a fundamental role.’ (blurb: Chris Masters) The book is written in a lively style, full of passion, but handling with panache a mass of evidence, some of it previously obscure.

A review is here from Justin Shaw, which includes this passage:

Until now, much reading of history has been like so much film and television: the men drive the action, make the decisions and perform the heroic deeds, while the women are invisible or little more than ornaments. What this book does is lay down a new way for women (and girls, when the Young Adult version is released next year) to view themselves, and for all of us to understand our past through truth rather than reliance on myth.

Another review is here. Another review. The author discusses here issues raised by the book and to do with women in our history generally. The book won the Stella Prize for 2014; author discusses the win. Stella Prize night speeches. Bethanie Blanchard writes. Another review. A lengthy article on the significance of the book from a feminist literature viewpoint.

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