From Publishers Weekly
Blackburn ( The Emperor's Last Island ) here presents a biography of the extraordinarily determined and independent Daisy Bates who, in 1913, at age 54, removed herself from England to Australia's red desert outback as a self-appointed champion of the Aborigines. She remained there until her death in 1956. She not only shared the Aborigines way of life but so gained their confidence that she was made privy to the men's secret rites. The author traces Bates's steps and draws on her voluminous notebooks and letters, which reveal her as an acute observer of nature and a gifted writer whose works were imbued with dreams and hallucinations. Blackburn superbly fills in gaps with her own research and sympathetic imagination, while preserving the enchantment that Bates herself wove.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Irish-born Bates dedicated the greatest portion of her life to living with and studying the Aborigines of Australia. In this book, Blackburn explores the life and work of this extraordinary woman. The first part presents information gained through the author's scholarly research, interviews, and travels; the second is a lengthy account of Bates's day-to-day life written from the perspective of Bates herself. The latter section is no doubt the most rewarding portion of the book, as it is well written and draws the reader into the absorbing re-creation of a long-term desert experience. In addition to Bates's personal life, the book addresses many topics relating to life in the early 1900s in Australia. Recommended as an informative, entertaining, and descriptive addition to general travel and anthropology collections.
Jo-Anne Mary Benson, Osgoode, OntarioCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
