Notes and Sketches of New South Wales : During a Residence in that Colony from 1839 to 1844

First published in 1844, Louisa Anne Meredith's account of emigrating to New South Wales is a frank and sometimes negative document about Australian society at the time. However, her interest in, and great skill at describing, wildlife made her one of the most successful women writers in Victorian Australia.

Louisa Anne Meredith (1812–1895) had published poetry, journalism, and books on flowers before emigrating to Australia in 1839. Her account of her journey there and her early impressions of the people were somewhat derogatory, and caused considerable offence in Sydney, although the book was widely read both in Australia and in England. However, her lyrical descriptions of nature were extremely popular, and she was also a talented illustrator of her own work. She published some twenty books, and many other writings, making her one of the most commercially successful women writers in Australia. Her My Home in Tasmania (1852) is also reprinted in this series. Her books remain valuable as a source of information on the social history of Australia in the mid-nineteenth century, and also on natural history. For more information on this author, see http://orlando.cambridge.org/public/svPeople?person_id=merelo