• Elizabeth Macarthur

Elizabeth Macarthur

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Product Description

Elizabeth Macarthur: A Life at the Edge of the World

In 1788 a young gentlewoman raised in the vicarage of an English village married a handsome, haughty and penniless army officer. In any Austen novel that would be the end of the story, but for the real-life woman who became an Australian farming entrepreneur, it was just the beginning.

John Macarthur took credit for establishing the Australian wool industry and would feature on the two-dollar note, but it was practical Elizabeth who managed their holdings—while dealing with the results of John’s manias: duels, quarrels, court cases, a military coup, long absences overseas, grandiose construction projects and, finally, his descent into certified insanity.

Michelle Scott Tucker shines a light on an often-overlooked aspect of Australia’s history in this fascinating story of a remarkable woman.

Our volunteers have spent some time jotting down their thoughts on the books they’ve recently read. Here's Liza's thoughts on ‘ Elizabeth Macarthur: A Life at the Edge of the World’:

"The subtitle of Michelle Scott Tucker’s biography of Elizabeth Macarthur, “a life at the edge of the world”, encapsulates the essence of survival which was the backbone of Macarthur’s remarkable life. This absorbing account of the woman from a Devon village who travelled on the Second Fleet with her husband and baby (and bore another child on board ship which lived only a few hours) and went on to be instrumental in the establishment of the wool industry in New South Wales, is highly readable and very well-researched. A must-read for an informed visit to Elizabeth Farm that provides an incredible insight into the resilience and resourcefulness needed to survive as a female pioneer of the colony, especially with an often-absent husband. "

400 pages

 Paperback

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