Dimensions
153 x 231 x 28mm
In 1829, estranged from her family and living in an isolated Scottish village, Georgiana Kennedy makes a sudden decision to marry Captain John Molloy of the Rifle Brigade - a handsome hero with a mysterious past. Together, they emigrate to the remote southwest of Western Australia with the first small group of European settlers, experiencing great hardship in the fledgling colonies of Augusta and Busselton.
In times of personal tragedy and privation, botany is Georgiana Molloy's salvation. Entirely self-taught, she becomes the first internationally successful female botanist in Western Australia.
Today, her collections of indigenous flora of the southwest, including type specimens, are archived in the world's leading herbaria.
Drawing on primary sources and fresh evidence to explore previously undisclosed influences that shaped Georgiana's strong values and attitudes, Bernice Barry sheds new light on the pioneering botanist's writing, and answers questions asked for a hundred and fifty years about John Molloy's complete history and his influence on her life. This minutely researched biography covers some of the most dramatic scenery, geographical and historical, of two centuries in England, Scotland, Spain and Australia a tale of love, drama, adventure and resilience.
