By Aaron Cordy
INSIGHT into one of Australia’s quiet histories was shared last Thursday at the Shepparton Library when Danielle Scrimshaw presented her book, She and Her Pretty Friend, as part of the OutintheOpen festival.
With a focus on women such as Anne Drysdale, Lesbia Harford, and Cecilia John, She and Her Pretty Friend centres on stories of those who have remained obscured and less spoken of in the historical narrative. Throughout this retelling of Australian history, Danielle Scrimshaw explores how colonisation altered ideas of sexuality, how the suffrage movement in Australia created opportunities for queer women and details her part in creating queer history.
“I was already interested in Australian and social history and how people in the past can translate into the present. Because I had come out in my third year of Uni, and I thought I wanted to do an honors thesis, I wanted to do something with Australian history and I knew there was not a lot written about Queer women’s history in Australia, so I wanted to do something with that,” said Danielle.
You can find out more about She and Her Pretty Friend at daniellescrimshaw.com
For more about author talks visit gvlibraries@gvlibraries.com.au.
