Colonial consorts : the wives of Victoria’s Governors 1839 – 1900 (signed presentation copy)

Melbourne : The Miegunyah Press, 2001. Quarto, boards in dustjacket, pp. xxii; 326, colour plates.

From the library of noted art historian Ann Galbally, with a warm inscription to her from the author on the title page.

‘”Carrying out the duties of a governor’s wife was the pinnacle of public service for women in colonial Australia. Victoria had ten British governors during the nineteenth century, and all were married men. (One of them, Sir Henry Barkly, was married twice.) Their wives accompanied them to Melbourne as a matter of course, forced to leave behind their homes, their extended families and sometimes their school-age children.” “While researching Colonial Consorts, Marguerite Hancock made extensive use of letters, diaries and family papers in libraries and archives in Switzerland, Scotland and Australia. These reveal the private feelings of eleven very different women: some longed constantly to go home; others found unexpected pleasures in their vice-regal duties, and recorded detailed and sometimes humorous reflections on colonial life.” – dustjacket.