REVIEWS OF Step up, Mrs Dugdale

Lizzie Chandler (Goodreads Author): Leonhardt has a gift for bringing the past alive and her distant aunt’s story is one well worth conjuring. The author's skill in weaving primary sources into the narrative while making it seem seamless earned my admiration. I couldn’t help but read Dugdale's story with a sense of how much women today - and women writers - still face discrimination and hardship because of their sex, even though we have come a long way.

Queenscliff Historical Museum: Pioneer resident of Queenscliff, Henrietta Augusta Dugdale (1827-1918), activist and promoter of women’s rights, is again the subject of a book. A new novel by Lynne Leonhardt, "Step up, Mrs Dugdale", tells the story of her great-great-grand-aunt, Henrietta Dugdale Johnson, nee Worrell. Lynne is a Worrell descendant. Following on Susan Priestley’s meticulously researched biography of Henrietta Dugdale, the novel by Lynne Leonhardt will have a wider appeal. It is an engaging account of the early days of Queenscliff, peopled by characters we know, living and working in places we frequent. Read on

WritingWA Recommended Book for Month of May - Review: When Henrietta Dugdale gathers her three young sons to her in the spring of 1867 and runs away from her bigamist husband, she puts into motion events that will lead to her recognition as a hero and trailblazing suffragette for women’s rights in Australia. This novel is based on a true story of the author’s ancestor, pieced together from family history, meticulous research and a desire to bring to light a life that was lived with conviction and fortitude. Read on

WritingWA Book Club Notes: Download the PDF to Read on

Brittany Alexander: Lynne Leonhardt’s second novel, Step Up, Mrs Dugdale, focuses on the extraordinary life of one of Australia’s first suffragists, Henrietta Dugdale. Leonhardt is the great-great-grandniece of the main protagonist, providing her with a unique insight, that has never been seen before with this character. Read on