Lively, Warm and Fascinating: Read Our Review of Elizabeth Macarthur’s Letters, Edited by Kate Grenville

In 2020, Orange Prize-winning Australian author Kate Grenville released her bestselling historical novel A Room Made of Leaves. In that intelligent and brilliantly written book, Grenville reimagines the life of Elizabeth Macarthur – wife of the notorious John Macarthur, wool baron in the earliest days of Sydney – in the form of a shockingly frank and secret memoir. The novel was critically acclaimed, earning Grenville the 2021 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction.

Having grown up in the Macarthur region in South-West Sydney, I had heard of Elizabeth and John Macarthur. The area itself was named after the couple, and from a young age, we were taught about these pioneers of the Australian wool industry. There was even a high school named after Elizabeth. Mostly, though, it is John Macarthur that history celebrates, and other than her marriage to him, I didn’t really know much about the woman behind the man. Then I read A Room Made of Leaves, which playfully brought to life the story of this fascinating woman, giving her, for the first time, a voice of her own.

The letters in this book were the starting point for A Room Made of Leaves. They inspired the portrait of Grenville’s imagined Elizabeth Macarthur: shrewd, subtle, passionate. And they offer a glimpse into the complicated inner life of one of our most powerful foremothers. Yet, until now, a general reader could only access a handful of them.

Elizabeth Macarthur’s Letters is an edited selection, with commentary from Grenville, of the many letters Elizabeth wrote ‘home’ from colonial Sydney over her long life – letters in which we can hear the voice of a remarkable woman. Circumstances confronted her with huge challenges, but also gave her opportunities unknown to most women of the time. It was a life of tumult, of griefs and joys – all faced with spirit, and recorded in this lively and engaging correspondence.

Elizabeth Macarthur’s Letters is a beautifully presented and accessible book of letters that will appeal to both readers of A Room Made of Leaves and anyone interested in learning more about one of Australia’s most fascinating female figures.