Friends & Rivals

In this book Brenda Niall has written about four Australian female authors whose work was published at the end of the nineteenth century and the first part of the twentieth century. The writers are Ethel Turner, Henry Handel Richardson, Nettie Palmer and Barbara Baynton.

There was a growing interest in Australian writing and identity in this period, particularly through the work of Banjo Patterson and Henry Lawson plus publications such as The Bulletin which promoted Australian authors and poets. But it was still a difficult time for the work of Australian female writers to be accepted on its own merit. The four authors in this book tried to break the mould.

Elthel Turner is best known as a writer of children's books, the most famous being Seven Little Australians. Unlike most of the Australian fiction written at the time, Ethel Turner wrote about children living and playing in the streets of Sydney. She was a very popular children's author but became frustrated when publishers would not accept that she could also write for adults.

Henry Handle Richardson is perhaps best known for her book, The Getting of Wisdom (1910), as well as success with other works including Maurice Guest (1908), and the novels in the Fortunes of Richard Mahony series. Born Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, Ettie used the male name Henry so her books would be accepted on their own merit and not dismissed as a book written only by a woman.

Barbara Baynron wrote a number of adult novels, the best received being Bush Studies. Her writing style was more forthright than other writers, especially female authors, and she felt that she did not get the recognition that she deserved. Niall dwells on the mystery of Barbara Baynton's past and her reputation for recreating her own story.

Nettie Palmer wrote an autobiography of her uncle, Henry Bourne Higgins: a memoir (1931), but is perhaps better known as a writer of articles in newspapers and magazines, a critic and promoter of Australian literature. In 1924 she wrote the book, Modern Australian Fiction. Nettie Palmer was married to the author, Vance Palmer, and spent much time helping him promote his writing.

Themes of the book include the contribution to Australian literature made by these writers, the difficulties of female authors to be acknowledged as equal to male authors and the challenges of Australian writers having their work published and recognised in Australia and overseas (Britain).

Although the book is divided into separate sections for each author the connections between the four women is also explained. Reading about the lives of these women who helped pioneer the wealth of Australian literature we enjoy today, especially books written by women, is most interesting. However there is a lot of unecessary repetition in the book which can become annoying after a while.

HRT Husband Replacement Therapy

This title has caused discussion in our male dominated house resulting in a post on my husband's Facebook page asking should he be concerned that I was reading this book. The post caused some amusement among his Facebook friends, including one whose wife had already read it.

Ruby thought that her marriage was fine until the day of her 50th birthday when she discovered that her husband was having an affair. Then she received communication from her doctor's surgery informing her that she had terminal cancer. Consequently after consuming too much alcohol she caused a stir at her birthday party when she told her friends and family what she thought of them. All in all it was not a good day.

To say that Ruby's extended family is dysfunctional would be an understatement. Her two older sisters, Emerald and Amber do not talk to each other and their mother is demanding and seems determined to extend the rift between her daughters. When Ruby first received the medical diagnosis (she later discovered there was an error) she booked three passages on the first cruise ship leaving Sydney so that she and her sisters could have a holiday away from their families and reconcile their differences. Ruby also decided that she needed some husband replacement therapy. The sisters eventually all agree to go but when on board they discovered that their three week relaxing holiday was a Cougar Cruise. This was when the fun started.

Kathy Lette has created a career writing quirky, over the top, but humourous books about women and female issues and I have enjoyed three other titles in the past. In recent interviews the author has described the characters in this novel as 'women ageing disgracefully'.

All in all the book provides many laughs and is a good way to escape for an hour or two, especially during the challenging times of 2020.

Dymock's Chapter One - Kathy Lette talking about her new book, Husband Replacement Therapy 22 May 2020 - video

Kathy Lette also launched HRT Husband Replacement Therapy from London on the Better Reading Facebook page on 6 May.

Why Women Read Fiction: the stories of our lives

English academic, Helen Taylor, has written this account of the reasons why women enjoy reading and why they tend to read fiction as opposed to non-fiction books.

Having worked in public libraries for many years the theory proposed in this book that women generally tend to read fiction rather than non-fiction is correct for many readers. Women and men also tend to read different genres of fiction or, more precisely, men do not read certain genres. Some prople of course read all types of books depending on their mood.

Topics included in the book include reasons why women like to read;  real books versus e-books; the influence of reading as a child and / or teenager on adult reading; how women choose reading material; romance and erotica written by women for women; crime novels preferred by women as opposed to crime novels read by men; science fiction and fantasy; the effects of literary blogs on women's choice of reading material; the opinions of women writers on their reading and readers; book clubs and literary festivals; sites in England associated with literature; bookshops and libraries; under representation of women in nominations for book awards; attitudes towards men's writing and women's writing.

The author also looks at the two book titles that most frequently appear on lists of the most popular titles read by women - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Both of these books, as well as becoming films and television programs, have many spin-offs either based on the titles, characters within the novels, parodies etc. These include the Bridget Jones Diary series and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

Information gathered for this book was based on a survey undertaken by the author as to how and why women read books and what they read.Quotes from respondants to the survey questions are used to illustrate theories.