Henry Handel Richardson is the pseudonym of the celebrated Australian-born writer, Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson (1870-1946). Her early novels, Maurice Guest (1908) and The Getting of Wisdom (1910) were acclaimed by prominent writers and critics in England, America and Europe, and in Australia in the mid-1920s when Nettie Palmer began to champion her works.
Today, HHR retains an important place in Australia’s literary history. Her work and life continue to be studied and enjoyed by readers, scholars, creative artists, family historians, literary tourists and other interested parties worldwide.
Tributes to her include a plaque on Sydney Writers Walk, the naming of a suburb of Canberra and a residential hall at Monash University, a dedicated National Trust House in Chiltern, and portraits in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery of Victoria.
In 2008, the Henry Handel Richardson Society of Australia (HHRSA) was formed to provide ongoing promotion, enjoyment and engagement with her works and life.