One of Australia's foremost biographers, Brenda Niall is the author of 'Martin Boyd: A Life'; 'Georgiana'; 'The Boyds: A Family Biography' and 'Judy Cassab: A Portrait'. 'In Life Class: The Education Of A Biographer' she retraces her own footsteps to discuss the pleasures of biographical discovery and the pitfalls – technical, personal and moral – of entering other peoples lives.
Her journey takes her back to childhood in the prosperous Melbourne suburb of Kew, her convent education, her chequered university studies and her late-blossoming career at the newly founded Monash University in the exuberant 1960s.
Her biographical adventures include travels in England, Scotland, Italy, Austria and Hungary as well as scenes closer to home, in Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, Sydney and the Shoalhaven region of NSW. Profound and intriguing questions are explored in this unusual and deeply personal account of a biographer's life.
