Cultural Studies

Between the Leaves: Stories of Australian Women, Writing and Gardens by Katie Holmes

by Penny Hanley •

July–August 2011, no. 333

UWA Publishing, $34.95 pb, 304 pp

Cultural Studies

Between the Leaves: Stories of Australian Women, Writing and Gardens by Katie Holmes

by Penny Hanley •

July–August 2011, no. 333

For historian Katie Holmes, researching and writing Between the Leaves was a journey of discovery and interpretation. In her examination of the records left by nine women – through their words and the signatures they left on the land – the author discovered some of the meanings that writing and gardening held for them. Holmes was also drawn to ways an individual’s story can illuminate a larger picture. Sites of women’s stories are also places where the nation’s stories can be found: ‘Within this book, women’s home and garden belong in history, rather than as a mere adjunct to it.’

Penny Hanley

Penny Hanley holds a PhD in Communications from the University of Canberra (2009). She has taught creative writing and editing and is now a freelance writer and editor. As well as having had non-fiction and a novel (Full House, Simon and Schuster, 1993) published, eighteen of Penny’s short stories have appeared in national and international journals, and two stories were short-listed for prizes. Her latest book, Creative Lives: personal papers of Australian writers and artists, was published by the National Library in 2009. She lives in the inner north of Canberra with her family, two cats and three chooks.