Elizabeth Macarthur
Subtitle: A Life at the Edge of the World
Publisher: Text Publishing Company
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 384
ISBN-13: 9781925603422
Subjects: Farmers' spouses; Australia, biography; New south wales, history
Description: In 1788 a young gentlewoman raised in the vicarage of an English village married a handsome, haughty and penniless army officer. In any Austen novel that would be the end of the story, but for the real-life woman who became an Australian farming entrepreneur, it was just the beginning. John Macarthur took credit for establishing the Australian wool industry and would feature on the two-dollar note, but it was practical Elizabeth who managed their holdings - while dealing with the results of John's manias- duels, quarrels, court cases, a military coup, long absences overseas, grandiose construction projects and, finally, his descent into certified insanity. Michelle Scott Tucker shines a light on an often-overlooked aspect of Australia's history in this fascinating story of a remarkable woman.