Collection: Adult Non Fiction - Biography

Beyond the formidable combination of tulle and lycra, how much can an audience ever truly understand about the demands of being a ballet dancer? What really is the pain and pleasure of pointe shoes and jockstraps? Can a wardrobe malfunction derail a scene? What happens when injury sidelines a pri...

"From the National Book Award-winning author of Waiting: a narratively driven, deeply human biography of the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai, also known as Li Po. In his own time (701-762), Li Bai's poems--shaped by Daoist thought and characterized by their passion, romance, and lust for life--were neve...

A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson is rightly recognised as Australia's greatest storyteller and most celebrated poet, the boy from the bush who became the voice of a generation. He gave us our unofficial national anthem, 'Waltzing Matilda', and treasured ballads such as 'The Man from Snowy River' and 'Clancy...

Sir Joseph Banks was a larger-than-life character best known for his promotion of science. In 1768 Banks joined Captain James Cook's expedition to the South Pacific. The 30,000 specimens he brought back generated enormous interest, as did the sometimes racy written account of the journey, which c...

This is the story of Celia Rosser, internationally acclaimed botanical illustrator, who dedicated her life to painting the entire genus of Banksia, the only artist to have done so. Her dedication to the task put her at the centre of the Monash Banksia Poject for twenty-five years and culminated i...

Barbara Hepworth is one of the most important artists of the 20th century, yet she has been the subject of relatively few monographs in comparison to her male counterparts. This biography moves beyond the traditional narratives of modernism, truth to materials, and the landscape to provide a pene...

Barbara Tucker: The Art of Being presents a multifaceted view of Tucker and the life she made with her artist husband Albert. Inspired by accounts of family, friends and admirers attending her memorial, it contains speeches, essays, memoirs and a photo journal. Her nephew Darren Jones and niece C...