The Wives' Accounts...

[Stephen Whiteside]

Many years ago I read an account of their lives together written by C. J. Dennis' widow, Margaret Herron. Titled 'Down the Years' (not a great title), it was surprisingly readable, entertaining and informative. A real gem.

Now I am reading 'My Henry Lawson' (a better title) by Lawson's widow, Bertha. Again, it is a fascinating read, and a real suprise.

Does anybody know of any other of these 'spousal biographies'? Did Banjo's wife write one? What about the husbands of the women poets?

[Glenny Palmer]

....there's one in the pipeline...by me...Buy croc's book to find out....

[Neville Briggs]

There was a 1997 movie called..I Married a Strange Person. But that's very generic.

[Glenny Palmer]

You're very sharp this morning, Neville.............

[Heather]

Stephen, Colin Roderick discredits a lot of what Bertha says. You should read Roderick's Henry Lawson A Life. It's heavy going but thorough...

[Vic Jefferies]

Stephen, Heather is right in that Bertha was widely criticized for her book on Henry and she was seen as trying to "cash" in on his fame after his death. Colin Roderick, an acknowledged expert on Lawson has quite a bit to say about Bertha and it appears that she was far from the ideal wife.

[Stephen Whiteside]

Yes, I know a bit about Bertha's failings, but it is fascinating reading nonetheless. I never regard anybody as the last word on anything, and there are domestic details she recounts that nobody else could know about. (The account of their time together in NZ is full of these.)

The omissions are interesting, too. It's interesting to read her rationalisations for Henry's decision to leave the ship before it reached Melbourne on their way home from England. He was keen to see Hannah Thorburn once more before she died, but of course Bertha could not say this. I often find the early, biased histories at least as interesting as the later, more academically rigorous ones. They are so quirky and full of character, and indirectly tell so much of the times they were written in.

I haven't read Roderick, but I did read another very good biography of Lawson entitled "Henry Lawson - the Grey Dreamer" (again, not a good title, in my opinion), written by Denton Prout.

Speaking of Roderick, his biography of Miles Franklin ("Miles Franklin: Her Brilliant Career" - now THAT'S a good title) is excellent.