Grantlee Kieza

Lust, science, adventure — Joseph Banks and his voyages of discovery Sir Joseph Banks was a man of passion whose influence spanned the globe. A fearless adventurer, his fascination with beautiful women was only trumped by his obsession with the natural world and his lust for scientific knowledge. Fabulously wealthy, Banks was the driving force behind monumental voyages and scientific...

A lively and engaging portrait of a towering and complex figure of Australian colonial history. Macquarie by Grantlee Kieza is an in-depth exploration of Lachlan Macquarie, a pivotal figure credited with transforming the penal colony of New Holland into an agricultural powerhouse and a prosperous society. As an egalitarian, Macquarie saw opportunity in former convicts, enabling many to become successful...

The inspiring story of Mary Penfold, the mother of the Australian wine industry - a self-taught vintner and business genius who emigrated to a frontier settlement and built her family's small vineyard into one of the world's most respected winemakers. Bestselling author and biographer Grantlee Kieza turns his focus to the birth of the Australian wine industry and the mother,...

The desperate manhunt to bring down Australia's most notorious outlaw When Ned Kelly and his band of young tearaways ambushed and killed three brave policemen in a remote mountain camp in 1878, they sparked the biggest and most expensive manhunt Australia had seen. The desperate search would end when Kelly and his gang, wearing suits of armour, tried to derail...

The extraordinary story of Mary Reibey - immortalised on the Australian $20 note, Australia's first female entrepreneur and the most powerful woman in colonial history SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 INDIE BOOK AWARDS In 1791, teenage runaway and sometime horse thief Mary Reibey narrowly escaped the English gallows with transportation to the brutal new penal colony at Sydney Cove. It was...

The extraordinary story of the famous 'Birdman' John Gould and his talented wife Elizabeth, who revealed the astonishing world of Australian birds and wildlife in one of the most important naturalist expeditions in history - from the bestselling author of Sister Viv, Flinders, Banks, Mrs Kelly and The Remarkable Mrs Reibey. Longlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2025 John and...

Champion swimmer, trailblazer, and film idol—the adventurous life of our first Hollywood superstar, by the bestselling author of Sister Viv, Mrs Kelly, Hudson Fysh, Banks, and Banjo. Born into a daring, musical family in 1886, Annette Kellerman was a force of nature and made for the stage—her first love—and encouraged to defy social norms from a young age. After being...

The extraordinary rise, devastating fall and enduring legacy of an Australian icon Lawson by Grantlee Kieza captures the heart and soul of Australia and its people with greater clarity and truth than any writer before him. Born on the goldfields in 1867, Henry Lawson became the voice of ordinary Australians, recording the hopes, dreams, and struggles of bush battlers and...

The extraordinary life of the Gallipoli veteran and WWI Flying Corp gunner who founded Qantas and gave Australia its wings By the critically acclaimed author of bestselling biographies of John Monash, Banjo Paterson, Joseph Banks, Lachlan Macquarie, and Henry Lawson, this is a fascinating, lively, and thoroughly researched portrait of a modest, resolute family man with a steady hand during...

The extraordinary life, loves and voyages of the man who put Australia on the map, now with a foreword from Flinders' great-great-great-grand-daughters on the 250th anniversary of his birth. In 1810, Matthew Flinders made his final voyage home to his beloved wife, Ann, his body ravaged by the deprivations of years of imprisonment by the French. Four years later, at...

The remarkable life of Australia's greatest storyteller 'A detailed and sympathetic account ... fascinating' - The Australian A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson is rightly recognised as Australia's greatest storyteller and most celebrated poet, the boy from the bush who became the voice of a generation. He gave the nation its unofficial national anthem 'Waltzing Matilda' and treasured ballads such as 'The Man...

Shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2025, this is the inspiring story of the nursing hero who survived a wartime massacre and dedicated her life to saving others - from the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of Flinders, The Remarkable Mrs Reibey, Hudson Fysh, and Banjo. Shortlist Indie Book Awards 2025 Shortlist ABIA Biography of the Year 2025 Bangka Island, 1942:...

Stunning trade paperback edition of Grantlee Kieza's bestselling biography of Australia's greatest general. It's December 1918 and the world war is over. General Sir John Monash attends a glittering banquet to dine with the King of England and the likes of Woodrow Wilson, Winston Churchill and Rudyard Kipling. Just four months earlier, the commander of the Australian Corps had been...

A no-holds-barred collection of Australian boxing yarns by one of Australia's bestselling storytellers and boxing aficionado, Grantlee Kieza. Boxing has given Australian sport some of our most inspiring champions and captivating tales. Stories of underdogs overcoming heartbreaks and hurdles, of endless courage and dedication, triumph and tragedy, of bitter feuds and fatal showdowns, and of tough Australian battlers who became...

The extraordinary true story of courage under fire and survival during one of the deadliest wartime attacks on Australia - the sinking of the hospital ship, the Centaur - and the bravery of its heroes Few disasters have touched Australia as profoundly as the sinking of the hospital ship Centaur - one of the deadliest wartime attacks on the nation,...

Lust, science, adventure — Joseph Banks and his voyages of discovery The extraordinary life of one of the world's most famous and notorious adventurers Sir Joseph Banks was a man of passion whose influence spanned the globe. A fearless adventurer, his fascination with beautiful women was only trumped by his obsession with the natural world and his lust for scientific...

The extraordinary life of the daring adventurer who defied ice and fire - war photographer, Antarctic explorer and adventurer - by Australia's No.1 bestselling historical biographer, featuring a foreword by Hurley's granddaughter. From the moment he ran away from school at just 13, Frank Hurley carved a path as one of the greatest adventurers of all time. A visionary photographer...

The inspiring story of Mary Penfold, the mother of the Australian wine industry - a self-taught vintner and business genius who emigrated to a frontier settlement and built her family's small vineyard into one of the world's most respected winemakers. Bestselling author and biographer Grantlee Kieza turns his focus to the birth of the Australian wine industry and the mother,...

The grand story of the famous 'Birdman' John Gould and his talented wife Elizabeth, who revealed the astonishing world of Australian birds and wildlife in one of the most important naturalist expeditions in history – from the bestselling author of Sister Viv, Flinders, Banks, Mrs Kelly and The Remarkable Mrs Reibey. Longlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2025 John and...

The astonishing life of Ned Kelly's mother While we know much about the iconic outlaw Ned Kelly, his mother Ellen Kelly has been largely overlooked by Australian writers and historians—until now, with this vivid and compelling portrait by Grantlee Kieza, one of Australia's most popular biographers. When Ned Kelly's mother, Ellen, arrived in Melbourne in 1841 aged nine, British convict...

He's all but been lost from history, but once upon a time, Bert Hinkler, a small, unprepossessing man from Bundaberg, was feted as one of the most daring aviators in the world. Mussolini's favourite pilot, Hinkler was an adventurer who, along with early pioneers, flew single-handed across countries, continents, and oceans—often with nothing more than a lunchbox by his side...

The extraordinary life, loves and voyages of the man who put Australia on the map In 1810, Matthew Flinders made his final voyage home to his beloved wife, Ann, his body ravaged by the deprivations of years of imprisonment by the French. Four years later, at the age of just 40, he would be dead - a premature, tragic end...