History She Wrote

This is the life and times of colonial author, Jessie Lloyd, who was prolifically published in the 1800's, in Australia, under a pseudonym, out of necessity, because she was a woman. In the years of Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson and C.J. Dennis, 'Silverleaf' was the editors favorite. Books, magazine serials and newspaper articles were admired and often criticized, hence greater sales. But she has been forgotten. Jessie's story originates from her forebears in Scotland, birth in Tasmania, living through the gold rush of Victoria, then a station in NSW, where her lonely grave lies in an outback paddock. Suzanne John, the great-great-great granddaughter of 'Silverleaf', provides a meticulously researched work of historical biography in 'History She Wrote' restoring Jessie Lloyd to her rightful place in Australian Literary History. Jessie's son Reginald Lloyd edited newspapers in London and every state of Australia, finally settling in Western Australia.