Robert Wainwright

When an unassuming young Melbourne woman bumped into a handsome naval lieutenant in a Colombo hotel swimming pool in 1926, she would never have dreamed of one day being the wife of an English duke with three castles. Demure but feisty Nell Stead and Alexander 'Mandy' Drogo Montagu, son of the ninth Duke of Manchester, fell in love that day...

A wonderfully racy biography, full of comedy and tragedy and populated by some of the most dissolute and eccentric aristocrats of the 20th century. - Daily Mail Enid Lindeman stood almost six feet tall, with silver hair and flashing turquoise eyes. The girl from Strathfield in Sydney stopped traffic in Manhattan, silenced gamblers in Monte Carlo and dared to walk...

When award-winning reporter Paola Totaro lost her sense of smell to Covid in March 2020, her world changed and dulled in an instant. Trapped in a sensory vacuum without fragrance or flavour, she embarked on a journey of discovery to unravel the mysteries – and eccentricities – of the fifth sense. Our sense of smell shapes our everyday experiences in...

Katrina Gorry is a powerful testament to grit, endurance, and agility. It shows how perseverance, focus, and strong values lead to true success. A must-read for anyone seeking strength in themselves and those they love. – Cathy Freeman OAM This is a heartwarming book full to the brim with love of family, of friends, of football. Yet, we discover in...

Australia's First International Superstar When most Australians think of Nellie Melba, they picture a squarish middle-aged woman dressed in furs and large hats, an imperious Dame whose voice ruled the world for three decades. But there was much more to her life than adulation and riches. To succeed, she had to overcome social expectations, misogyny, and tall-poppy syndrome. She endured...

'Her beauty and her boldness shine through this fascinating tale.' - Canberra Times Vivacious, confident and striking, Sheila Chisholm met her first husband, Francis Edward Scudamore St Clair-Erskine, a first lieutenant and son of the 5th Earl of Rosslyn, when she went to Egypt during the Great War to nurse her brother. Arriving in London as a young married woman,...

Sheila wedded earls and barons, befriended literary figures and movie stars, bedded a future king, and was celebrated by London and New York society for forty years. When she died, she was a Russian princess. Vivacious, confident, and striking, Sheila Chisholm met her first husband, Francis Edward Scudamore St Clair-Erskine, a first lieutenant and son of the 5th Earl of...

The House of Drogo Montagu is the family name of the Dukes and Earls of Manchester who served the British monarchy for five centuries. But by 1927, when Alexander, the eldest son of the 9th Duke, married an enterprising young Australian woman named Nell Stead, the family was on its knees financially. Faced with war and a legacy of excess...