Nine Lives: Postwar Women Writers Making Their Mark

An illuminating group biography of the fascinating women who contributed to the postwar era’s literary renaissance, this account traces the early careers of nine notable Australian writers—Jessica Anderson, Thea Astley, Rosemary Dobson, Dorothy Auchterlonie Green, Gwen Harwood, Dorothy Hewett, Elizabeth Jolley, Amy Witting, and Judith Wright—born between 1915 and 1925, who each achieved success between the mid 1940s and the 1970s. Reflecting on the politics of the times and the feminine condition, this book considers why their careers developed differently from those of their male counterparts and how they balanced marriage, family, and writing. An engaging read, it offers a fresh perspective on mid-20th-century Australian literature and the women writers who helped to shape it.