Cirrus@Austlit

'At the turn of the 18th century, Amsterdam is at the centre of an intellectual revolution, with artists and scientists racing to record the wonders of the natural world. Of all the brilliant naturalists in Europe, Maria Sibylla Merian is one of its brightest stars.

'For as long as she can remember, Dorothea Graff's life has been lived in service to her mother, Maria: from collecting insects to colouring illustrations for Maria's world-famous publications. While Dorothea longs for a life that is truly her own, she constantly finds herself drawn back into her mother's world – and shadow. 

'When Maria becomes entranced by the plant and insect life of Suriname, she is determined to record it for herself. At just twenty years old, Dorothea decides to join her on this once-in-a-lifetime journey. All the family's savings are ploughed into the dangerous expedition, but greatness is never achieved without sacrifice. The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname will be Maria's masterpiece, but ensuring its legacy – and her own survival – will become her daughter's burden. When offered a chance of happiness, will Dorothea have the courage to take it, and risk everything her mother built?

'From the jungles of South America to the bustling artists' studios of Amsterdam, Melissa Ashley charts an incredible period of discovery. With stunning lyricism and immaculate research, The Naturalist of Amsterdam gives voice to the long-ignored women who shaped our understanding of the natural world – both the artists and those who made their work possible.'(Publication summary)

'It’s 1699, and the salons of Paris are bursting with the creative energy of fierce, independent-minded women. But outside those doors, the patriarchal forces of Louis XIV and the Catholic Church are moving to curb their freedoms. In this battle for equality, Baroness Marie Catherine D’Aulnoy invents a powerful weapon: ‘fairy tales’.

'When Marie Catherine’s daughter, Angelina, arrives in Paris for the first time, she is swept up in the glamour and sensuality of the city, where a woman may live outside the confines of the church or marriage. But this is a fragile freedom, as she discovers when Marie Catherine’s close friend Nicola Tiquet is arrested, accused of conspiring to murder her abusive husband. In the race to rescue Nicola, illusions will be shattered and dark secrets revealed as all three women learn how far they will go to preserve their liberty in a society determined to control them.

'This keenly-awaited second book from Melissa Ashley, author of The Birdman’s Wife, restores another remarkable, little-known woman to her rightful place in history, revealing the dissent hidden beneath the whimsical surfaces of Marie Catherine’s fairy tales. The Bee and the Orange Tree is a beautifully lyrical and deeply absorbing portrait of a time, a place, and the subversive power of the imagination.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Artist Elizabeth Gould spent her life capturing the sublime beauty of birds the world had never seen before. But her legacy was eclipsed by the fame of her husband, John Gould. The Birdman’s Wife at last gives voice to a passionate and adventurous spirit who was so much more than the woman behind the man.

'Elizabeth was a woman ahead of her time, juggling the demands of her artistic life with her roles as wife, lover, helpmate, and mother to an ever-growing brood of children. In a golden age of discovery, her artistry breathed wondrous life into countless exotic new species, including Charles Darwin’s Galapagos finches.

'In The Birdman’s Wife a naïve young girl who falls in love with an ambitious genius comes into her own as a woman, an artist and a bold adventurer who defies convention by embarking on a trailblazing expedition to the colonies to discover Australia’s ‘curious’ birdlife.

'An indelible portrait of an extraordinary woman overlooked by history - until now.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'During an eleven-year career (1830-1841) as a sketcher, painter and lithographer, Elizabeth Gould designed and composed more than 650 hand-coloured lithographic plates of birds: these included the 50 birds depicted in Charles Darwin's ornithology section of The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle (1840); hundreds of lithographs of European species, and illustrated monographs about the popular novelty genera: the toucan and the trogon. In 1838 the British illustrator travelled to Australia with her husband, John Gould, a publisher, writer and ornithologist, to collect specimens for The Birds of Australia (1840-1848). The two-year project involved significant expenditure and risk; the Goulds' three youngest children, Charles, Eliza and Louisa, remained at home in London, in the care of their maternal grandmother. Between 1838 and 1840 Elizabeth, along with her eldest son, John Henry, resided in Hobart and Scone, where she completed sketches, drawings and paintings of the continent's bird species and flora. During her stay in Hobart, she gave birth to another son, Franklin Tasman. Unfortunately, Elizabeth did not live to see the completion of her research, since she died from puerperal fever in August 1841, following the birth of her daughter, Sarah, a year after her return to England. At the time of her death, Elizabeth had finished designs for 84 hand-coloured lithographs and an unknown number of preparatory drawings for the remaining 520 bird species the Goulds had surveyed and collected. The Birds of Australia, a seven-volume natural history of the continent's birdlife, featuring 600 hand-coloured lithographic plates, was an immediate success and the collection continues to be discussed and dissected today. Yet, in spite of Elizabeth's contributions, the work is usually celebrated as being from the hand of her husband, John Gould.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.