Daisy Bates in the Desert: A Woman's Life Among the Aborigines

By Julia Blackburn

In 1913, at the age of 54, Daisy Bates went to live in the deserts of South Australia. Brilliantly reviewed, astonishingly original, this "eloquent and illuminating portrait of an extraordinary woman" (New York Times Book Review) tells a fascinating, true story in the tradition of Isak Dinesen and Barry Lopez.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9780307829238

Julia Blackburn

Julia Blackburn is the daughter of the poet Thomas Blackburn and the painter Rosalie de Meric. She has written two novels (both shortlisted for the Orange Prize), a memoir The Three of Us (winner of the JR Ackerley Award), a collection of poems, Murmurations of Love, Grief and Starlings (Full Circle, 2015) and nine works of non-fiction of which the most recent, Time Song, was published by Cape in 2019. She lives in Suffolk and in Italy.

Reviews for Daisy Bates in the Desert

[seriousgrace · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Julia Blackburn became fascinated by Daisy Bates quite by accident. In the beginning of her book Blackburn imagines Ms. Bates's feelings and memories but by the middle of the book there is an odd shift in perspective and suddenly Blackburn assumes the role of Bates, talking in the first person as if she IS Daisy Bates. It was a little unsettling until I settled into the narrative...and then she switches back.Through Blackburn's words Daisy Bates became this larger than life figure; a woman trying to save the natives of Australia. At times it was difficult for me to understand her motives or her successes, but I learned to understand her passions. She truly cared for the people of the desert. 

[kslade-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

OK partly fictional biography of a Victorian lady who lived among the aborigines in Southern Australia from early 1900s to about 1950 or so. Not much is known so author makes up things, but it is very well done. A lost woman among a lost people.

[librisissimo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Substance: A biography of a woman who chose to live among the Australian aborigines, styling herself their protector, with funding from the government. Although evidence indicates that she was an inveterate embellisher of her biography and life with her companions, whom she always claimed as friends, she seems sincere in her appreciation of their culture and love for them as persons. She did compile material for published articles and some books (some written by others), although not a trained researcher or anthropologist or linguist.Style: Blackburn uses the unusual device of beginning and ending her book with a standard biographical narrative, based on Bates' journals and recollections of other people, but the center is written as if by Bates herself, and (if it truly captures her spirit) presents a moving portrait of a complex and interesting woman.