Louisa's family request a tombstone
A terrific story from Liz Burke at new.com.au - Louisa's family are now fighting to get a headstone placed on her unmarked grave. Louisa's great, great granddaughter, Janis Thompson, is quoted in the...
View ArticleLives of freedom, and of choice
The official launch of Last Woman Hanged is tonight (Monday, 27 October.)It will be held at the Gallipoli Club, and my host is Anne Henderson of the esteemed The Sydney Institute.Several of Louisa's...
View ArticleHave you got Louisa's dress?
The formal launch of Last Woman Hanged was held in a lovely, sandstone-walled room at the Gallipoli Club in Sydney's CBD last night, Monday 27 October 2014. Our host was The Sydney Institute. We had a...
View ArticleLouisa Collins on the Alan Jones program
I was lucky enough to be invited onto the Alan Jones program on 2GB on Monday to talk about Louisa Collins and Last Woman Hanged. Alan is a staunch supporter of the arts in Australia: song, dance,...
View ArticleLouisa Collins - a name all Australian women should know
A thoughtful piece from Fairfax's Clementine Ford with a focus on the women who tried to save Louisa's life.I must admit, my favourite part of the research process was discovering their names. Women...
View ArticleLadies' Lunch for Last Woman Hanged
Warm thanks to the generous Robin Amadio of The Wentworth Courier for attending the lunch for 40 women at Chiswick, to celebrate the publication of Last Woman Hanged. Whether Louisa Collins was guilty...
View ArticleLast Woman Hanged on Breakfast with Fran Kelly, on ABC Radio National
What is Last Woman Hanged about? On one level, it's a story about a woman on trial for murder. It's about marriage, betrayal, justice, poverty, and arsenic. It's a true crime story, set in the late...
View ArticleSecrets from the grave
How much do you know about your ancestors?Would you be surprised - or thrilled! - to find a secret in your family tree? As regular readers will know, the process of locating Louisa's descendants was...
View ArticleBotany Bay Historical Trust
What a fabulous night! I was invited to speak at the Annual General Meeting of the Botany Historical Trust ... and that's quite an honour!Botany is where Louisa Collins lived, and where her husbands...
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Praying since dawn
Here is the feature on Louisa Collins, last woman hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol, that appeared in Good Weekend on 22 October, 2014.
View ArticleMurder by cyanide
THE crime of murder is most often carried out by men, against other men, and it's very rarely carried out in a cool and pre-meditated way, despite what you see on TV. The US has, in recent months, been...
View ArticleThe Black Widow
Travelling in South Australia this week, it seems that all the state is abuzz with the death of a man called Kenneth Perry.Who was he? He was the last surviving husband of Emily Perry, known as The...
View ArticleShe was not tried by a jury of her peers
Thank you to Booktopia's John Purcell (journalist) and Andrew Cattanach (camerman) for this interview about the hopelessness of Louisa's situation.
View ArticleTelling Louisa's story in the Free State
South Australia. It's history is very different to that of New South Wales. South Australia is the Free State: it was never a penal colony. People did not go there in chains. They were not thrashed in...
View ArticleLouisa on the bestseller lists
Well, I couldn't be more thrilled. Mum sent me this list of the Top 10 best-sellers from The Age this morning - and look at No. 3. It's Last Woman Hanged. Now, I realise it's the Military and History...
View ArticleBelltrees - Birthplace of the Last Woman Hanged
Belltrees.It even sounds beautiful - and it is. Belltrees is a magnificent pastoral station in the Hunter Valley.It has been owned and managed by the White family for seven generations. It is special...
View ArticleWhat's an e-book bundle ?
Hey, what's this thing called an e-book bundle? Well, funny you should ask! The e-book bundle is new to the Australian marketplace. Essentially, it's a special, wrapped package whereby you can buy both...
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Louisa Collins v Lee Child?
Many thanks to the staff at the Stanton Library in North Sydney for hosting a lively talk on Last Woman Hanged on Tuesday. The audience was fully engaged with Louisa's story and the questions were...
View ArticleBeware Japan's Black Widows
One partner dead. Then two. Then three. Then four, five, six ... then SEVEN partners dead?! No wonder they call her the Black Widow.Japanese police yesterday arrested Chisako Kakehi is a 67-year-old,...
View ArticleNosey Bob - bungling hangman
Many thanks to Melbourne's The Herald Sun for publishing an extract from Last Woman Hanged. They chose to focus on the hangman, bumbling Robert 'Nosey Bob' Howard who also hanged the Aboriginal...
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