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.