#AusReadingMonth2022 Brenda Niall (…last minute!)
by Brenda Niall (no photo)
Genre: non-fiction
Rating: D
Review: Friends and Rivals (ISBN:9781922268594)
Quick Scan:
O-29%: Ethel Turner….not very interesting….kept falling asleep.
30-47%: Barbara Baynton…insights into a now forgotten writer.
48-70%: H.H. Richardson…this was the best section…there was more depth in the writing.
71-91%: Nettie Palmer…complete unknown writer for me before reading this book.
Good news: I read this book because I KNOW Brenda Niall is a great writer…
Bad news:
- …but this time I felt she “phoned in” the manuscript.
- There was no “buzz” in her writing and it is just my opinion
- ...the writing showed low enthusiasm or effort.
- Much of what I learned about these women writers I could have found on
- Wikipedia and other websites on the internet.
Personal:
- The book was informative…just textbook dull.
- I’ve read H.H.Richardson’s The Fortunes of Richard Mahoney and
- …it was a great book…worth your reading time!
- After reading about Ms Turner, Baynton and Palmer I feel no urge to
- explore their writings.
- There are so many other Australian women to read!
3 Comments
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NancyElin 
Yes! I read this last year and was less than impressed. The links were tenuious, she didn’t pull together the idea in any cogent way, and I felt like she lifted a lot of the bio material straight from their autobiographies and letters without any real analysis or questioning or research.
I was disappointed b/c I KNOW Ms Niall is a great writer.
Have you read any of her books? I only read Mannix and I was blown away about the connection of a poor priest from Ireland and how he could become such a “power-broker” in Australia. Any Niall recommendations?
No I haven’t and this one has put me off I bit I just admit. Except so many people love her earlier bio’s…🤷🏼♀️