"Putting creative flesh on history's dry bones"
I'm the author of sixteen books - historical fiction, historical fantasy, YA fantasy, and one non-fiction. I was an academic for over 20 years, a newspaper columnist and social commentator. I have a Ph.D. in English/Cultural Studies and have been published internationally on all things popular culture, education and social psychology. I even won awards for my teaching (I loved it), and have taught throughout Australia and in The Netherlands and keynoted at many education conferences. Nowadays, I find my greatest contentment studying history and writing, and helping my wonderful husband in his Brewery and Distillery, Captain Bligh's. I share a beautiful stone house in Hobart, Tasmania, built in 1868, with my husband, adorable dogs, shelves brimming with books, and beloved friends and family when they come to stay.
Books
Out Now
It’s 1679 and into the tumult, politics and colour of Restoration London and its lively theatre scene comes the fierce and opinionated Tribulation Johnson. Cast out from her family as ungodly and unworthy, Tribulation is determined to forge her own remarkable path.
Arriving in London, Tribulation is astonished to discover that the widowed cousin she’s been sent to live with is none other than the most infamous woman in London: the former spy and traitor’s mistress, the playwright and polemical poetess, Aphra Behn. Tribulation cannot believe her good fortune as she is thrust into city life and the heady, mercurial milieu of the theatre. Under Aphra’s guidance, Tribulation is encouraged to write, think and speak for herself. But women aren’t supposed to have a voice, or ideas, let alone wield a pen and write for a living, and there are harsh consequences for those who don’t obey society’s rules.
Together, Aphra and Tribulation must not only face vilification and mockery but terrible danger as plots to overturn the monarchy gather pace. When someone from Aphra’s complicated past reappears, the women’s loyalties – to King, country, and ultimately each other – are bitterly tested. Can their relationship survive the burning fires of religious hatred, suspicion and deceit? When everyone plays a part, and all the world’s a stage, who you trust?
‘So damn readable and fun … This is the story of a woman fighting for her rights; it breaches the walls of history.’ The Australian
”All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn’. Karen Brooks has done better. She has revived Aphra and her words.’ The Newtown Review of Books
My Articles
Exploring the Power of Women
Long ago, I made deliberate choice to foreground women’s stories from the past and, by doing so, I hope, celebrating the power of women in
Author, Playwright, Lover, Spy and figure of hate: Who was Aphra Behn?
In 1929, Virginia Woolf wrote that “All women together ought to let flowers fall on the tomb of Aphra Behn… For it was she who
“Sin in a bowl”: The history of the chocolate drink
So much of our history is not only recorded by men, but features them almost exclusively. This is especially true when it comes to trade. Women have always been integral to business and