Book Description

The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka is the most talked-about work of Australian history in recent years. Now here is Clare Wright's groundbreaking, award-winning study of the women who made the rebellion in an abridged edition for teenage readers. Front and centre are the vibrant, adventurous personalities who were players in the rebellion: Sarah Hanmer, Ellen Young, Clara Seekamp, Anastasia Hayes and Catherine Bentley, among others. But just as important were the thousands of women who lived, worked and traded on the goldfields—women who have been all but invisible until now. Discovering them changes everything. Clare Wright is a historian who has worked as a political speechwriter, university lecturer, historical consultant and radio and television broadcaster. Her first book, Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia’s Female Publicans, garnered both critical and popular acclaim. Her groundbreaking second book, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, which took ten years to research and write, won the 2014 Stella Prize. Clare researched, wrote and presented the ABC television documentaries Utopia Girls and The War that Changed Us. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and three children. ‘It’s hard not to be inspired by this feminist revisiting of gold rush history.’ CBCA Reading Time Praise for The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka ‘This is a wonderful book. At last an Australian foundation story where women are not only found, but are found to have played a fundamental role.’ Chris Masters ‘Brilliantly researched and fun to read. An exhilarating new take on a story we thought we knew.’ Brenda Niall ‘Fascinating revelations. Beautifully told.’ Peter FitzSimons ‘This is a fascinating book for teens that captures the essence of the times while never once feeling like a dry history book.’ Readings 'The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka offers us a full cast of flesh-and-blood women who belong in any telling of the Eureka story, and in any account of Australian goldfields life.' Robyn Annear, Monthly 'Clare Wright’s revisionary history of the Eureka stockade is immediately entrancing. A social history of the Ballarat goldfields in Victoria circa 1854, it recreates the landscape as one of bustling domesticity, commerce, theatre and constantly shifting authority. It is a far cry from the stories and images of my school history books which portrayed a shanty town of tents and men.' Guardian 'Extraordinary...There is so much to be learned from her prodigality of content...not just about the role of women of women in Eureka and on the goldfields...but also about Australian society.' Australian Book Review 'As Wright points out, for too long Eureka has been a masculine myth. Women's presence has never been fully explored. Indeed, their absence has been assumed. Her work fills an enormous gap. Furthermore, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka supports her claim that women's presence does not just add colour to the picture, it changes the very outline.' Weekend Australian ‘Wright’s use of source material focusing on people, mostly women, whose stories, diaries and writings can take us through the entire journey from immigration to rebellion allows readers to connect with these characters in a way that isn’t often found in history books...Without a doubt the historical legacy of the Eureka Stockade is one which will never be forgotten but thanks in large part to the work of Clare Wright the stories of the women who almost were can stay with us.’ Salty Popcorn