num_pages: 400
description: Inspired by a letter found tucked inside her famous husbands papers The Birdmans Wife imagines the fascinating inner life of Elizabeth Gould who was so much more than just the woman behind the man.Elizabeth was a woman ahead of her time juggling the demands of her artistic life with her roles as wife lover and helpmate to a passionate and demanding genius and as a devoted mother who gave birth to eight children. In a society obsessed with natural history and the discovery of new species the birdmans wife was at its glittering epicentre. Her artistry breathed life into hundreds of exotic finds from her husbands celebrated collections to Charles Darwins famous Galapagos finches.Fired by Darwins discoveries in 1838 Elizabeth defied convention by joining John on a trailblazing expedition to the untamed wilderness of Van Diemens Land and New South Wales to collect and illustrate Australias curious birdlife.From a nave and uncertain young girl to a bold adventurer determined to find her own voice and place in the world The Birdmans Wife paints an indelible portrait of an extraordinary woman overlooked by history until now.
language: English
title: The Birdman's Wife
publisher: Affirm Press