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Melissa Ashley is a writer, poet, birder and academic who tutors in poetry and creative writing at the University of Queensland. She has published a collection of poems, The Hospital for Dolls, short stories, essays and articles. What started out as research for a PhD dissertation on Elizabeth Gould became a labour of love and her first novel, The Birdman’s Wife, which has been printed in three formats and sold more than 30,000 copies since release. Melissa’s second novel, The Bee and the Orange Tree, will be published in November 2019 with Affirm Press.
‘The Birdman’s Wife is a fascinating story that is long overdue.’ THE HERALD SUN
‘The world can finally meet Elizabeth Gould in the flesh – or the fiction flesh, at least’ THE COURIER MAIL
‘Melissa Ashley conjures convincing and vivid images that transport us back to another time and place, breathing life into historical characters’ BETTER READING
‘The Birdman’s Wife is an exquisite reimagining of the untold story of Elizabeth Gould which restores her and her illustrations to centre stage during a period when the passion for natural history and discovery of new species was sweeping the world.’ INGA SIMPSON, author of Where the Trees Were, Nest and Mr Wigg
‘I completely fell in love with this book.’ SUSAN DUNCAN, author of Salvation Creek
‘A fascinating historical study, a meticulous and well-documented scientific report, an emotional story, and an engaging read’ CASS MORIARTY, author of The Promise Seed
‘Melissa Ashley’s lush work is a beautiful testimony to an overlooked — but brave and talented — female artist.’ JESSICA WHITE, author of A Curious Intimacy and Entitlement
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