Deborah FitzGerald Deborah FitzGerald i(A142684 works by)
Gender: Female
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
2 5 y separately published work icon Her Sunburnt Country : The Extraordinary Literary Life of Dorothea Mackellar Deborah FitzGerald , Cammeray : Simon and Schuster Australia , 2023 26386903 2023 single work biography 'The first definitive biography of Australian poet and writer Dorothea Mackellar, author of the celebrated poem 'My Country.' 'I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains...' Though many Australians know lines from Dorothea Mackellar's classic poem 'My Country' by heart, very little has been written about the poet's extraordinary life. From her childhood and youth in Sydney's Point Piper and Pittwater, to discovering her love for the Australian landscape on her brother's farm in Gunnedah, Dorothea engaged with the intellectual elite of Sydney and abroad as she embarked on a decades long literary career that saw her linked to some of the leading lights of her day. A keen traveller, Dorothea visited Japan, Egypt, Fiji, New Zealand and the United States between longer stints in the literary heart of London, where she socialised with the likes of Joseph Conrad and Ezra Pound. At home, she counted among her friends the famed Sydney Herald war correspondent, Charles Bean, and journalistic royalty in the form of the Fairfax family. Battling against a masculine tradition of Australian bush poetry led by the likes of Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, Dorothea Mackellar boldly carved out a place for herself, leaving an indelible mark on the Australian imagination. Now, for the first time, the poet's unconventional life story is told - a hidden gem of Australian history, and a tale of one woman's extraordinary passion for her poetry, her family, and her country.' 

(Publication summary)

1 y separately published work icon Sophie's Boys Sophie Smith , Deborah FitzGerald , South Melbourne : Affirm Press , 2018 13941489 2018 single work autobiography

'When Sophie and Ash discovered they were expecting triplets, it was much more exciting than daunting. But when Sophie went into labour at only 21 weeks, their world was turned upside down. Though they fought fiercely they could not escape tragedy. Tiny Henry lived for just one cherished hour, Evan for 10 days and Jasper was with them for only 58 days.

'Heartbroken and back in her empty home, Sophie realised she could not allow herself to drown in her grief. On Ash’s advice, she began to run. Step by step she regained some equilibrium. She became determined to turn her agony into something positive. Gathering supporters around her, she founded the Running for Premature Babies Foundation to raise money for the hospital unit that had cared for her sons. In their first Sydney half marathon, the group raised $80,000.

'Sophie and Ash had two more sons, Owen and Harvey, when tragedy revisited them. Ash was diagnosed with incurable brain cancer. Sophie was forced once again into a world of pain and grief, caring for her beloved husband as well as their two young boys. Together, the family faced the reality of death with courage and tenderness.

'When Ash passed away in 2016, Sophie once again put one foot in front of the other, and ran. Not running from her pain, but towards something useful. Her charity, the Running for Premature Babies Foundation, has now raised well in excess of $2.5 million to help the thousands of premature babies born each year.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

1 The Anniversary Deborah FitzGerald , 2011 single work short story
— Appears in: The Life You Chose and That Chose You : The 25th UTS Writers' Anthology 2011; (p. 21-27) The Best Australian Stories 2011 2011; (p. 210-215)
X