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Birdman's Wife
Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
17 posts | 10 read | 18 to read
Inspired by a letter found tucked inside her famous husbands papers, The Birdmans Wife imagines the fascinating inner life of Elizabeth Gould, who was so much more than just the woman behind the man. Elizabeth was a woman ahead of her time, juggling the demands of her artistic life with her roles as wife, lover and helpmate to a passionate and demanding genius, and as a devoted mother who gave birth to eight children. In a society obsessed with natural history and the discovery of new species, the birdmans wife was at its glittering epicentre. Her artistry breathed life into hundreds of exotic finds, from her husbands celebrated collections to Charles Darwins famous Galapagos finches. Fired by Darwins discoveries, in 1838 Eliza defied convention by joining John on a trailblazing expedition to the untamed wilderness of Van Diemens Land and New South Wales to collect and illustrate Australias curious birdlife. From a nave and uncertain young girl to a bold adventurer determined to find her own voice and place in the world, The Birdmans Wife paints an indelible portrait of an extraordinary woman overlooked by history, until now.
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Madison91
The Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Panpan

This is not my vibe, this could be good for someone else, but it left me feeling a bit… and?? I think I need a solid story. Genuinely keen to hear other people‘s opinions

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Gunn_S
Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Pickpick

It‘s a lovely book and I really enjoyed reading about the everyday life and their adventures. But even though I feel I have a good grasp on the english language, I feel this book would be better enjoyed if I was a native english speaker. The details of the birds and wildlife in Australia was a bit wasted on me since it was so much I didn‘t understand. And as I read this on a beach in Lesvos, Greece I didn‘t have Google translate to rely on.

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Sue
The Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Elizabeth Gould must have been a strong #independentwoman - although a wife and mother, she also worked for her husband, producing hundreds of lithographs to illustrate John Gould's work. She even travelled with him to Van Dieman's land, leaving her children at home, so she could help in the documentation of Australia's bird life.

This copy is sans dust jacket and features her lithographs on the cover and fly sheets.

#augustgrrrls

Megabooks Beautiful book cover! 7y
batsy That's so pretty! 7y
Sue @Booksandcooks @batsy I originally got it as an arc, but I had to buy the physical copy when I saw it. The dust jacket is gorgeous too. I saw the author talk when she was launching the book and she was over the moon with the way the publisher put it together. 7y
82 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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Cassandra_L
The Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Won this one in Writers Victoria's subscribathon. I'm a total bird-nerd, so best prize ever as far as I'm concerned, and that wren wrapping paper is amazing!

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Sue
The Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Got to hear Melissa Ashley talk about her new book yesterday. I took the opportunity to pick up a hard copy - it's an exquisite artefact with a number of Elizabeth's lithographs included in the flyleaf. This is wat it looks like without the beautiful dust jacket.

BookishMarginalia Gorgeous! 8y
68 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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ReadingsBooks
Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Pickpick

'A wonderful, fictionalised biography of an exceptional woman'

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Heather_Reads
The Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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I got the prettiest book mail yesterday (budgie not included). I've already read this book but in digital format, which was a disappointment when I saw how lovely the book was in real life.
If you're planning on reading this, definitely get yourself a physical copy - you'll thank me for it later.

#bookmail

TheCanuckReader Must get this. Bird freak here :) 8y
Heather_Reads @TheCanuckReader I love birds too! This has lots of taxidermied birds in it though, so I hope that won't bother you at all! The book revolves around the recording of new bird species in the 1800s, so there's a lot of ornithology related collecting going on. But it's a really great book and I can highly recommend it. 8y
Cassandra_L Your budgie is so adorable (and compliant!) 8y
Heather_Reads @Cassandra_L I got him on a good day - usually he's all over the place! 8y
28 likes4 comments
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Sue
The Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley

So excited, I'm going to a session with Melissa Ashley in a couple of weeks!!!

melbeautyandbooks Very cool! 8y
60 likes1 stack add1 comment
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TheSloanRanger
Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Back at my old job so less time for reading. Thank goodness for lunch breaks!

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TheSloanRanger
Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Planning book reviews and reading! Need to charge this bad boy up so I can keep reading at the gym this afternoon!

#thebirdmanswife #melissaashley #currentlyreading #bookblogger

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TheSloanRanger
Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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When it's dead at work and you get to spend the night reading 👌#thebirdmanswife #melissaashley

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Heather_Reads
The Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Pickpick

This was a fascinating look at the life of Elizabeth Gould, a woman who has largely been overlooked in the annals of natural history in favour of her husband, John. Elizabeth was an artist, wife, mother, and a convention breaker. Although this is a fictionalised account of Elizabeth's life, Melissa Ashley has been meticulous in her research and her author's note at the end shows just how committed she was to portraying Elizabeth accurately.

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Heather_Reads
The Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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"…Charles had found that the young budgerigars emerged from their shells in a fully helpless state. They were bereft of feathers and their eyes did not open for a week. The hen nestled her babies close, feeding them constantly and using her body to give warmth."
This book is reminding me of when two of my budgies were babies. So cute and sweet, and grew up into little jerks. But still cute.

shainareads They look like teeny dinosaurs! 8y
7 likes1 comment
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Heather_Reads
The Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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This book has many taxidermied birds in it. To paraphrase Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, on behalf of my little friend here, "This is a lovely book of death".
(This bird is 100% alive, by the way.)

LauraBeth Awwww - I have three budgies who drive me insane 😀🐦 8y
Heather_Reads @LauraBeth I have four who drive me insane also. They're moulting at the moment so there are feathers everywhere. 8y
14 likes2 comments
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NikkiA
Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Pickpick

As a general rule, I really struggle with these novelisation-of-a-true-story books, but this one is genuinely interesting. The wife of a renowned ornithologist and a talented artist in her own right, Eliza Gould led such an interesting life that it reads like well-plotted fiction. Add to that the author's real talent for bringing Eliza's world to life in living, breathing, vibrant colour and you end up with a very readable book 🐦🐤🐧🎨

47 likes3 stack adds
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NikkiA
Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Sitting on the deck with a book, a coffee and a very relaxed cat. Finally starting to feel like springtime in this part of the world! ☀️

Alisnazzy #KittenLitten 😻😸😻 8y
MrBook 😻😻😻 8y
BekahB HAA! I love how relaxed your cat looks in this pic! 😸 8y
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SusanInTiburon 😎😸 8y
Zelma Such a happy cat! 😻 8y
LauraBeth Someone needs a belly rub 😺 8y
quirkyreader Yea spring. 🐸🐙 8y
69 likes7 comments
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Sue
Birdman's Wife | Melissa Ashley
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Pickpick

The fictionalised story of Elizabeth Gould, wife of John Gould who did a lot of work classifying Australia's birds. Elizabeth did a lot of work for her husband while also bringing 8 children into the world until her untimely death at the age of 37. This book is beautifully researched and written, and is a tribute to both an amazing woman and Australia's bird life.

Penny_LiteraryHoarders What a beautiful cover. 8y
Sue @Penny_LiteraryHoarders It is beautiful - I love Fairy Wrens. 8y
Suzze I am so in love with that cover! 8y
See All 6 Comments
EnidBiteEm Eight children before 37! What a woman... 8y
MrBook Great review! 😁👍🏻 8y
MrBook Another "wife" book for you, @BookBabe ! 8y
80 likes3 stack adds6 comments