That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet. – Jhumpa Lahiri
Thank you to the 10 attendees at our Author Talk with Gwen Wilson on Friday.
'Louisa' is a powerful historical novel of betrayal, independence and hope. Filled with meticulous historical detail and rich with emotional depth, it follows the compelling journey of Louisa Whitley, a courageous woman who defied Victorian constraints to forge a new life in 19th-century Australia.
Gwen shared with us some fascinating discoveries she came across during her archival research while writing her novel, Louisa, including following the tangential lives of Cuthbert and Herbert Lysaght, who played a part in the history of Australia's steel industry, whose names she happened to come across in a shipping record she found during her investigations.
She showed us her scrapbook of newspaper clippings, paintings, illustrations, and historical records that guided and inspired her novel based on the life of her great grandmother, Louisa, whose story is a heartfelt homage to the quiet, unseen work of women who keep families and communities together and whose grit has shaped generations.
