'Despite their talent and achievements, Suzanne Baker’s female ancestors weren’t accorded the same opportunities as their male contemporaries. Many also had the ill-fortune to make unhappy marriages, sometimes with men who walked out on them. Indeed, Suzanne’s father Sidney J. Baker, the celebrated author of The Australian Language, left his family when Suzanne was just six.
'Coming from a long line of clever and assertive women, rejection of the status quo was part of Suzanne’s character. Like her great-grandmother, a significant political activist, and her mother, who was a renowned magazine writer, Suzanne would excel, becoming one of Australia’s pioneering journalists, an influential second-wave feminist, an early China-watcher, and a film producer who became Australia’s first female Oscar winner.
'While Suzanne feels lucky to have grown up at a time when women were beginning to receive more recognition for their achievements, she believes gender parity in wages and social status, as well as equal opportunities in politics, business, the arts, science and other fields still have a long way to go.
'This brilliant book combines Suzanne’s unique take on her family history with fascinating insights into Australia’s social, literary, political and feminist movements since the mid-nineteenth century.' (Publication summary)
