Australia's History: Themes and Debates - Softcover

Martyn Lyons was born in London and now lives in Sydney, where he is Professor of History and European Studies at the University of New South Wales. He has published books and articles in both French revolutionary history, and in the history of the book. Recent works related to the history of reading and writing include Readers and Society in Ninteteenth-Century France (2001). Penny Russell is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Sydney where she teaches aspects of Australian history, women's history, scandal and autobiography. She has published widely in Australian colonial history, the use of women's private writings as historical sources and on the life of Lady Jane Franklin. Her publications include A Wish of Distinction: Colonial Gentility and Femininity (1994) and This Errant Lady: Jane Franklin's Overland Journey to Port Philip and Sydney (2002).

This short volume presents an up-to-date account of issues and debates in Australian history. It has been conceived and compiled with students and a non-Australian readership in mind. Each chapter gives an overview of the current state of knowledge and the issues of interpretation of concern to Australian historians today. Covering a broad range of topics, leading writers in their fields offer a synthesis of existing work and their own original research that challenges prevailing myths. The result is a succinct appraisal of the exciting and topical issues that inform Australian history-writing in 2005.