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The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka (Clare Wright, Text, November)

Lively, incisive and timely, Clare Wright’s account of the role of women in the Eureka Stockade is an engrossing read. Assembling a tapestry of voices that vividly illuminate the hardscrabble lives endured on Ballarat’s muddy goldfields, this excellent book reveals a concealed facet of one of Australia’s most famous incidences of colonial rebellion. For once, Peter Lalor isn’t the hero: it’s the women who are placed front and centre. Drawing on a wide range of scholarship and historical accounts, The Forgotten Rebels refreshes our understanding of the Eureka Stockade and exposes the stories of determined, resourceful and brave women—stories that have so far gone untold. Wright, author of Beyond the Ladies Lounge (2004) and the documentary Utopia Girls (2011), writes with a lively sense of drama and a sharp eye for detail. Although slightly perfunctory in its recount of the stockade itself, The Forgotten Rebels links the actions of its heroines to the later fight for female suffrage, and will be of strong relevance to a contemporary female audience. Comprehensive and full of colour, this book will also be essential reading for devotees of Australian history.

Patrick Mullins is a PhD candidate and former bookseller

 

Category: Reviews