Winner of the Stella Prize, 2014. The Eureka Stockade. It's one of Australia's foundation legends yet the story has always been told as if half the participants weren't there. But what if the hot-tempered, free-spirited gold miners we learned about at school were actually husbands and fathers, brothers and sons? What if there were women and children right there beside them, inside the Stockade, when the bullets started to fly? And how do the answers to these questions change what we thought we knew about the so-called 'birth of Australian democracy'? Who, in fact, were the midwives to that precious delivery? Ten years in the research and writing, irrepressibly bold, entertaining and often irreverent in style, Clare Wright's The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka is a fitting tribute to the unbiddable women of Ballarat - women who made Eureka a story for us all. Clare Wright is an historian who has worked as a political speechwriter, university lecturer, historical consultant and radio and television broadcaster. Her first book, Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia’s Female Publicans, garnered both critical and popular acclaim and her second, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, won the 2014 Stella Prize. She researched, wrote and presented the ABC TV documentary Utopia Girls and is the co-writer of the four-part series The War That Changed Us which screened on ABC1. 'Lively, incisive and timely, Clare Wright's account of the role of women in the Eureka Stockade is an engrossing read. Assembling a tapestry of voices that vividly illuminate the hardscrabble lives endured on Ballarat's muddy goldfields, this excellent book reveals a concealed facet of one of Australia's most famous incidences of colonial rebellion. For once, Peter Lalor isn't the hero: it's the women who are placed front and centre...The Forgotten Rebels links the actions of its heroines to the later fight for female suffrage, and will be of strong relevance to a contemporary female audience. Comprehensive and full of colour, this book will also be essential reading for devotees of Australian history.' Bookseller and Publisher 'This is a wonderful book. At last an Australian foundation story where women are not only found, but are found to have played a fundamental role.' Chris Masters 'Brilliantly researched and fun to read. An exhilarating new take on a story we thought we knew.' Brenda Niall 'Fascinating revelations. Beautifully told.' Peter FitzSimons ‘The best source on women at Eureka.’ Big Smoke

The Eureka Stockade. It’s one of Australia’s foundation legends—yet the story has always been told as if half the participants weren’t there. But what if the hot-tempered, free-spirited gold miners we learned about at school were actually husbands and fathers, brothers and sons? What if there were women and children right there beside them, inside the Stockade, when the bullets started to fly? And how do the answers to these questions change what we thought we knew about the so-called ‘birth of Australian democracy’? Who, in fact, were the midwives to that precious delivery? Ten years in the research and writing, irrepressibly bold, entertaining and often irreverent in style, Clare Wright’s The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka is a fitting tribute to the unbiddable women of Ballarat—women who made Eureka a story for us all.

For the ten years from 1902, when Australia’s suffrage campaigners won the vote for white women, the world looked to this trailblazing young democracy for inspiration. Clare Wright’s epic new history tells the story of that victory—and of Australia’s role in the subsequent international struggle—through the eyes of five remarkable players: the redoubtable Vida Goldstein, the flamboyant Nellie Martel, indomitable Dora Montefiore, daring Muriel Matters, and artist Dora Meeson Coates, who painted the controversial Australian banner carried in the British suffragettes’ monster marches of 1908 and 1911. Clare Wright’s Stella Prize-winning The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka retold one of Australia’s foundation stories from a fresh new perspective. With You Daughters of Freedom she brings to life a time when Australian democracy was the envy of the world—and the standard bearer for progress in a shining new century. Dr Clare Wright is an award-winning historian and author who has worked as an academic, political speechwriter, historical consultant and radio and television broadcaster. Her most recent book, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, won the 2014 Stella Prize and the 2014 NIB Award for Literature and was shortlisted for many other awards. ‘You Daughters of Freedom brings some forgotten women into the public discourse again, and we are all the richer for it.’ Australian ‘A celebration of leadership, inspiration, education and sheer individual cheek.’ Sydney Morning Herald ‘Clare Wright’s You Daughters of Freedom is the uplifting story of a time Australia led the world in including women in our democratic project. It is a reminder of our proud legacy and a clarion call for who we can be.’ Penny Wong ‘The essential story of our greatest reformers, and one of our proudest achievements as a nation.’ George Megalogenis ‘A thrilling tale, superbly told, of brave Australian women with a passion for politics.’ Judith Brett ‘A rare achievement. Grand, bold and brilliantly written.’ Mark McKenna ‘This book will be brilliant.’ Annabel Crabb, Chat 10 Looks 3 ‘One of the country’s most accomplished story-tellers relates Australian women’s fight for the vote in all of its passion, intensity and drama.’ Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU ‘You Daughters of Freedom relates with sparkle and wit the largely untold story of the trailblazing women who not only dragged recalcitrant male leaders into the new century and won the right to vote but also were at the forefront of the struggle for women’s enfranchisement internationally.’ Inside Story ‘Her story of Australian suffragists winning the vote and then running for parliament in 1903 should be required reading in this time of angst over the ‘women problem’ in the federal Liberal Party.’ Weekend Australian Magazine

The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka is the most talked-about work of Australian history in recent years. Now here is Clare Wright's groundbreaking, award-winning study of the women who made the rebellion in an abridged edition for teenage readers. Front and centre are the vibrant, adventurous personalities who were players in the rebellion: Sarah Hanmer, Ellen Young, Clara Seekamp, Anastasia Hayes and Catherine Bentley, among others. But just as important were the thousands of women who lived, worked and traded on the goldfields—women who have been all but invisible until now. Discovering them changes everything.

Clare Wright's award-winning research challenges the myth that the Australian pub is a male domain, revealing the enduring and dynamic presence of female publicans behind the bar. Wright takes the reader on a pub crawl through this history: from Sarah Bird, the 27-year-old convict who was Australia's first female licensee, to Big Poll the Grog Seller, the miners' darling on the goldfields, to Cheryl Barassi and Dawn Fraser in recent years. Handsomely illustrated and weaving oral history interviews, archival sources, folk songs, bush ballads and other popular literature throughout the narrative, this groundbreaking book exposes the remarkable visibility and dominance of women in Austalian hotel-keeping culture. Clare Wright is a historian who has worked as a political speechwriter, university lecturer, historical consultant and radio and television broadcaster. Her first book, Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia’s Female Publicans, garnered both critical and popular acclaim. She researched, wrote and presented the ABC television documentary Utopia Girls and co-wrote The War That Changed Us, a four-part series commemorating the centenary of WWI for ABC1. The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka won the 2014 Stella Prize. Clare lives in Melbourne with her husband and three children.

The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka is the most talked-about work of Australian history in recent years. Now here is Clare Wright's groundbreaking, award-winning study of the women who made the rebellion in an abridged edition for teenage readers. Front and centre are the vibrant, adventurous personalities who were players in the rebellion: Sarah Hanmer, Ellen Young, Clara Seekamp, Anastasia Hayes and Catherine Bentley, among others. But just as important were the thousands of women who lived, worked and traded on the goldfields—women who have been all but invisible until now. Discovering them changes everything. Clare Wright is a historian who has worked as a political speechwriter, university lecturer, historical consultant and radio and television broadcaster. Her first book, Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia’s Female Publicans, garnered both critical and popular acclaim. Her groundbreaking second book, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, which took ten years to research and write, won the 2014 Stella Prize. Clare researched, wrote and presented the ABC television documentaries Utopia Girls and The War that Changed Us. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and three children. ‘It’s hard not to be inspired by this feminist revisiting of gold rush history.’ CBCA Reading Time Praise for The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka ‘This is a wonderful book. At last an Australian foundation story where women are not only found, but are found to have played a fundamental role.’ Chris Masters ‘Brilliantly researched and fun to read. An exhilarating new take on a story we thought we knew.’ Brenda Niall ‘Fascinating revelations. Beautifully told.’ Peter FitzSimons ‘This is a fascinating book for teens that captures the essence of the times while never once feeling like a dry history book.’ Readings 'The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka offers us a full cast of flesh-and-blood women who belong in any telling of the Eureka story, and in any account of Australian goldfields life.' Robyn Annear, Monthly 'Clare Wright’s revisionary history of the Eureka stockade is immediately entrancing. A social history of the Ballarat goldfields in Victoria circa 1854, it recreates the landscape as one of bustling domesticity, commerce, theatre and constantly shifting authority. It is a far cry from the stories and images of my school history books which portrayed a shanty town of tents and men.' Guardian 'Extraordinary...There is so much to be learned from her prodigality of content...not just about the role of women of women in Eureka and on the goldfields...but also about Australian society.' Australian Book Review 'As Wright points out, for too long Eureka has been a masculine myth. Women's presence has never been fully explored. Indeed, their absence has been assumed. Her work fills an enormous gap. Furthermore, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka supports her claim that women's presence does not just add colour to the picture, it changes the very outline.' Weekend Australian ‘Wright’s use of source material focusing on people, mostly women, whose stories, diaries and writings can take us through the entire journey from immigration to rebellion allows readers to connect with these characters in a way that isn’t often found in history books...Without a doubt the historical legacy of the Eureka Stockade is one which will never be forgotten but thanks in large part to the work of Clare Wright the stories of the women who almost were can stay with us.’ Salty Popcorn