“But oh Laura, I hate to bring it up, we do need to talk about your fellow student Chinky—that girl who stole in a desperate attempt to befriend you.”
I was invited by Melbourne City of Literature to write an essay for Lithub, featuring a book set in Victoria. I decided to write about Henry Handel Richardson’s The Getting of Wisdom and, as often happens with commissioned writing, my essay soon spun off into unexpected directions.
While I do talk about my enduring love for this classic Australian novel and its inimitable protagonist, Laura Tweedle Rambotham, what I found most satisfying was the opportunity to imagine myself or one of my ancestors into the narrative. The full essay can be found here.
