Biographers in Conversation

Kate Fullagar "Bennelong & Phillip: A History Unravelled"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the award-winning historian and author Dr Kate Fullagar chats with Dr Gabriella-Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting Bennelong & Phillip: A History Unravelled, the first joint biography of First Nations leader, Bennelong, and the first governor of the British Colony of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Why Bennelong & Phillip is still so relevant, over 200 years since the events depicted in it occurred
Why Kate Fullagar structured the narrative around the intertwined lives of Bennelong and Arthur Phillip rather than crafting separate biographies
Why Kate plotted the events in Bennelong’s and Phillip’s lives in reverse order, starting with the two leaders’ funerals
How Kate reconciled the literary challenges in crafting events in reverse order
How Kate pieced together and interpreted thousands of fragments of evidence that were biased by a colonial lens and lacked an Indigenous perspective
The vital evidence that enabled Kate to challenge the prevailing image of Bennelong as a tragic victim and outcast of his community
The complexities of intercultural encounters, particularly the power dynamics, cultural misunderstandings and moments of genuine connection that shaped the interactions between Bennelong and Phillip
Why deeply researched, revisionist accounts of a life and events are so vital in an authentic portrayal of our nation’s history and the individuals who created that history
How Bennelong & Phillip encourages us to confront the complexities of the past and engage in ongoing conversations about reconciliation and justice.

Pamela Toler's "The Dragon from Chicago. The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the historian Dr Pamela Toler chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting The Dragon from Chicago. The Untold Story of an American Reporter in Nazi Germany, the biography of Sigrid Schultz, the Chicago Tribune’s bureau chief in Berlin during Hitler’s rise to power.
 
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Why Pamela Toler chose The Dragon from Chicago as the biography’s title
Why Sigrid Schultz’s story is still so relevant today
How Pamela responded to gaps and misinformation in the historical record
How she reconstructed scenes from Sigrid’s life that reflected escalating intimidation and imminent danger in Nazi Germany
How Pamela balanced her voice as the narrator with Sigrid’s voice and point of view
How Pamela balanced Sigrid’s professional and public life with her human story
How Pamela contextualised Sigrid’s life and choices within their broader historical, social and cultural landscape.

Ashleigh Wilson's "Brett Whiteley: Art, Life and the Other Thing"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Ashleigh Wilson chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies me about his choices while crafting Brett Whiteley: Art, Life and the Other Thing, his acclaimed biography of Brett Whiteley, one of Australia’s most iconic artists.
 
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
The meaning of The Other Thing in the biography’s title
Ashleigh’s surprise discoveries and how they shaped the narrative
How Ashleigh verified the many colourful anecdotes about Brett Whiteley
How he reconciled the layers of myth surrounding Whiteley’s art and life
Why he structured Whiteley’s biography chronologically
How Whiteley’s mercurial character drove the plot
How Ashleigh portrayed Whiteley’s complex relationship with Australia and his desire to be recognised on the international stage
How Ashleigh balanced Whiteley’s public persona and human story
Ashleigh’s ethical decisions when revealing Whiteley’s mental health issues and addictions
The literary devices Ashleigh employed to balance academic rigour with crafting a captivating and propulsive narrative
The extent to which Ashleigh believes he got to the truth of his biographical subject.

Amy Reading's "The World She Edited: Katharine S. White at The New Yorker"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Amy Reading chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting The World She Edited: Katharine S. White at The New Yorker, the biography of Katharine Sergeant White, the first fiction editor of The New Yorker, an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry.
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Amy Reading’s inspiration for crafting The World She Edited
How The World She Edited provides a long overdue corrective to the male-dominated lens through which America’s literary history during the 20th century and the rise of The New Yorker have been portrayed
How Amy portrayed Katharine’s challenges, including sexism, misogyny, paternalism and backhanded insults
The extent to which Amy interpreted Katharine’s correspondence with her authors
How Amy narrowed the biographical scope given that the ‘finding aid’ to Katharine’s archival collection runs to 800 pages
How Amy crafted lucid, elegant narrative, evoking the style Katharine infused throughout The New Yorker
Why Amy argued for the importance of Katharine’s forgotten work and made a larger argument about female readers as the drivers of literary culture.

Patchen Barss "The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Patchen Barss chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting The Impossible Man: Roger Penrose and the Cost of Genius, the biography of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose.  
  
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:  
Patchen Barss’s painstaking research strategy  
How Patchen grasped complicated information about quantum physics and mathematics  
How he crafted erudite, poetic and propulsive narrative from seemingly incomprehensible scientific information and mathematical equations  
How he balanced Roger Penrose’s scientific, public, personal and inner lives to craft a kaleidoscopic portrait of an extraordinary human being  
How he represented Roger’s relationship difficulties truthfully and with sensitivity and dignity  
How Patchen navigated the perils of writing about a 93-year-old living subject who has a strong autobiographical voice  
Patchen’s response to the question: ‘Who gets to be a genius, and who makes the sacrifices that allow an individual to be one?’  

Brenda Niall's "Joan Lindsay: The Hidden Life of the Woman Who Wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Australia’s doyenne of biography, Brenda Niall, chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting: Joan Lindsay: The Hidden Life of the Woman Who Wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock.
 
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Brenda Niall’s inspiration for crafting Joan Lindsay: The Hidden Life of the Woman Who Wrote Picnic at Hanging Rock
Brenda’s meticulous research strategy
How Joan Lindsay’s character drove the plot
How Brenda balanced Joan’s public persona with her human story
Why Brenda asked penetrating questions throughout the narrative about Joan’s inconsistencies and contradictions and the role these questions played in the narrative
Why Brenda left a trail of breadcrumbs and clues throughout the narrative
How Brenda contextualised Joan’s life and her choices within their broader historical, social and cultural landscape
How Brenda’s psychological acuity enabled her to illuminate the complexities of Joan’s character and personality

Andrew Ford's "The Shortest History of Music"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the multi-award-winning broadcaster, composer and author Andrew Ford chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about his choices while crafting, The Shortest History of Music. A lively, authoritative tour through 4,000 years of music, this book explores music’s role in human society.
 
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Andrew Ford explains how he balanced brevity and intellectual depth while crafting a 200-page book spanning 4,000 years of musical history
How he synthesised a multiplicity of musical traditions and cultures into a seamless narrative
How he balanced historical accuracy with masterful storytelling
Why he examined music from multiple angles: Its fundamental impulses; the impact of notation; music as a profession and commodity; the concept of modernism and the revolutionary effects of recording technology
How he skilfully weaved history, culture and personal insight into a tapestry that celebrates music in all its forms.

Kate Kennedy's "Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Kate Kennedy, a distinguished cellist, musicologist, and Director of Oxford University’s Centre for Life Writing chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound.
 
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:
Kate Kennedy’s inspiration for crafting Cello: A Journey Through Silence to Sound
Why Kate chose Pál Hermann, Lise Cristiani, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and Amedeo Baldovino as her biographical subjects
Why Kate criss-crossed Europe by train with her cello strapped to her back to retrace the footsteps of the four extraordinary cellists
Why Kate wrote Cello as an experimental mix of memoir and object, collective and quest biography
Why Kate included fascinating interludes, sharing her personal experiences, musings, historical research and a cello’s physical and metaphysical characteristics
Why Kate introduced various voices into the interludes, including cello makers and dealers, a physicist whose garden houses a cello-turned-bee hive, and cellists such as Steven Isserlis and Christian Poltera
The literary devices Kate employed to craft poetic, evocative and at times, electrifying narrative
How Kate rediscovered her voice and identity as a cellist by crafting Cello.

Bernadette Brennan's "Leaping into Waterfalls: The Enigmatic Gillian Mears"

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, award-winning biographer Dr Bernadette Brennan chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting Leaping into Waterfalls: The Enigmatic Gillian Mears, a literary biography that explores the rich, tumultuous life of Gillian Mears, one of Australia’s most celebrated writers.
 
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode: 
Gillian Mears’s lived and imaginative lives were rich with adventure, risk and often transgressive passion. Her sensuality and sexuality were the driving forces of her life and writing, and her personal and fictional worlds coalesce
Why Bernadette Brennan chose the title, Leaping into Waterfalls
Why she explored the meaning of the metaphors in Gillian’s writing, suggesting what they reveal about Gillian’s character
How Bernadette took control of the narrative despite Gillian’s valiant attempts to curate her image through her annotated archives of 123 boxes of letters, diaries’ manuscripts and other traces of her life
How Bernadette retraced Gillian’s footsteps to create an authentic sense of place
How Bernadette balanced Gillian’s life story with literary criticism of her oeuvre
How Bernadette kept the focus on Gillian while also portraying the historical, social and cultural context of her times, which included prominent authors such as Helen Garner, Tim Winton and Kate Grenville
Ethical decisions about what evidence to include, emphasise and suppress given that Gillian’s sensuality and sexuality were at the core of her identity and informed her writing.

Helen Ennis' 'Max Dupain: A Portrait'

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, the acclaimed author and art historian Dr Helen Ennis chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about her choices while crafting Max Dupain: A Portrait, the first biography of the photographer Max Dupain, Australia’s most influential photographer of the 20th century.  
 
Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:  
Helen Ennis’s inspiration for crafting Max Dupain: A Portrait  
How Max Dupain’s photograph ‘The floater’ influenced Helen’s narrative strategy and the biography’s tone  
How Dupain’s character drove the plot  
How the women in Dupain’s life and work were instrumental to his success  
How Helen achieved a fine balance between Dupain’s professional and public life and his human story  
How she reconciled Dupain’s contradictions and complexity to craft a biography characterised by intense psychological closeness  
How she ensured her voice as the narrator didn’t overshadow Dupain’s voice and artistic vision  
The extent to which Helen interpreted Dupain’s character and behaviour versus providing clues and leaving it up to readers to draw their own   conclusions.