In Conversation with Marion Taffe

Join us for an exciting evening at Harry Hartog Mosman, as we celebrate By Her Hand by Marion Taffe. The engrossing and propulsive historical fiction debut from a talented new writer, for readers of Geraldine Brooks' Year of Wonders, Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, Lauren Groff's Matrix, Robyn Cadwallader's The Anchoress, Pip Williams's The Dictionary of Lost Words.

Marion will be in conversation with Vanessa McCausland as they discuss the book. Following the in conversation, there will be a chance for audience questions and an opportunity to get your book signed. Light refreshments will be served on the night. 

This event is free, but RSVPs are essential.

About the Book:

Peak District, Mercia, AD 910: a young girl, Freda works hard to avoid her father's temper, while longing for his approval. She loves foraging in the woods and hearthside stories of heroes. Secretly she thinks in poetry and dreams of one day being able to write; her quills are grass stalks and sticks, her parchment the sky, the earth, her skin. But Freda's world is at war, and when her village is decimated in a savage raid and her father goes missing, Freda must find the strength to survive.

Taken in by the church, her only options are a life of servitude or prayer. But the cunning bishop sees an opportunity. As well as teaching Freda to write, he uses her survival as evidence of a miracle so as to attract pilgrims who bring wealth. As Freda chafes against the bishop's increasing control, she develops a friendship with the Mercian leader Ethelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, who shows her what it is to lead as a woman in a world that worships warrior kings.

Soon Freda must choose. Does she remain the powerless, subservient quill whose fate lies in the hands of another, or does she fight for the right to create - and write - her own story?

About the Author:

Marion Taffe is a lifelong daydreamer. She was born in Melbourne, enjoyed a childhood on Magnetic Island in North Queensland and spent her teen years in her family's historic Ballarat home, which was open to the public. She studied Arts at ACU in Ballarat and rowed for Australia in the Under 23 World Championships. Rowing led Marion to a cadetship in journalism and a twenty-year career in media, working at newspapers and magazines in Ballarat, Townsville, Manchester, the Gold Coast and Melbourne, where she was national features and travel editor at mX for eight years. She studied Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT where she was named Creative Industries Student of the Year in her graduating year of 2023. Marion was runner-up in the Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Prize (non-fiction) in 2022 and a recipient of a Varuna Residential Fellowship in 2023.