Henry Handel Richardson: A Life Book

Henry Handel Richardson has been celebrated for her classic Australian novels The Getting of Wisdom and The Fortunes of Richard Mahony yet her own life-story is still to be fully told. This enthralling book provides the first complete biography of the enigmatic Australian literary icon and sheds new light on the conjecture surrounding her life. Many crucial issues bearing on Richardson's private life remain unresolved. Was she drawn to lesbianism? Did she fear she had contracted congenital syphilis? What was her relationship with her radical, reformist sister Lil? This book follows Richardson's life from her childhood through to her musical studies in Leipzig and meeting with her future husband. Her abandonment of music, her relationship with her sister Lillian and the feminist influences on her life and works. Richardson's poltergeist experiences are explored, as are the sudden effects of fame and her attitude to Australian writing.