Wednesday's Women

Alison Laurie (left), a supervisor for Michael O’Leary’s PhD thesis, launching it as the book ‘Wednesday’s Women’, at Paekakariki’s St Peter’s Hall on Sunday, 25 November. 

Alison spoke of how much she appreciated Michael bringing together the story of New Zealand women writers 1945 to 1970 marginalised and ignored by the male literary establishment before, in the feminist phrase, they ‘did it for themselves’. She particularly noted the tragedy of Robin Hyde, author of ‘Wednesday’s Child’, and the local cold-shouldering of Nelle Scanlan, a world famous writer. Michael had drawn attention to a host of fine women writers richly deserving of another look, indeed of republication.