GRANTLEE KIEZA – författare

The extraordinary rise, devastating fall and enduring legacy of an Australian iconHenry Lawson captured 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, he became the voice of ordinary Australians, recording the hopes, dreams and struggles of bush battlers and slum dwellers, of fierce independent women, foreign fathers and larrikin mates.Lawson wrote from the heart, documenting what he saw from his earliest days as a poor, lonely, handicapped boy with warring parents on a worthless farm, to his years as a literary lion, then as a hopeless addict cadging for drinks on the streets, and eventually as a prison inmate, locked up in a tiny cell beside murderers. A controversial figure today, he was one of the first writers to shine a light on the hardships faced by Australia's hard-toiling wives and mothers, and among the first to portray, with sympathy, the despair of Indigenous Australians at the ever-encroaching European tide. His heroic figures such as The Drover's Wife and the fearless unionists striking out for a better deal helped define Australia's character, and while still a young man, his storytelling drew comparisons on the world stage with Tolstoy, Gorky and Kipling.But Henry Lawson's own life may have been the most compelling saga of all, a heart-breaking tale of brilliance, lost love, self-destruction and madness. Grantlee Kieza, the author of critically acclaimed bestselling biographies of such important figures as Banjo Paterson, Joseph Banks, Lachlan Macquarie and John Monash, reveals the extraordinary rise, devastating fall and enduring legacy of an Australian icon.PRAISE FOR GRANTLEE KIEZA OAM'Engagingly written ... one of the most nuanced portraits to date' The Australian'Vivid, detailed and well written' Daily Telegraph'A staggering accomplishment that can't be missed by history buffs and story lovers alike' Betterreading.com.au'A free-flowing biography of a great Australian figure' John Howard'Clear and accessible ... well-crafted and extensively documented' Weekend Australian'Kieza has added hugely to the depth of knowledge about our greatest military general in a book that is timely' Tim Fischer, Courier-Mail'The author writes with the immediacy of a fine documentary ... an easy, informative read, bringing historic personalities to life' Ballarat Courier

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 winemakersShortlisted for the Lord Mayor of Brisbane's People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award 2026Bestselling author and biographer Grantlee Kieza turns his focus to the birth of the Australian wine industry and the mother, business leader and pioneering vintner Mary Penfold, who grew her garden vineyard into a world renowned wine empire.Closely related to one of the world's wealthiest families, Mary was a new mother when she packed up her baby daughter and left all the comforts of her seaside home in England in 1844 to follow her husband Dr Christopher Rawson Penfold as he chased his dream of starting a new life in the infant colony of South Australia.Mary and Christopher settled on a farm in the Adelaide Hills, and as Christopher made his rounds visiting patients on horseback, Mary and her maid Ellen Timbrell tended grapevines that the Penfolds had sourced from the south of France and planted in the garden beside their stone cottage, which they named The Grange.At first the wines Mary made were used as tonics for Christopher's patients, but at a time when women were often excluded from commerce and given little recognition for their business endeavours, Mary transformed her cottage industry into an empire. She expanded her vineyard, developed new styles of her product and built a flourishing company that supplied not only Australia's demand for high quality wine, but thirsty export markets as well. Wine had been part of the Australian landscape since the First Fleet delivered vines along with the convicts and free settlers to Sydney Cove in 1788, and 'The Commander in Chief', as Mary was affectionately known, helped make the Australian wine industry the envy of the world. Riding her white mare and using her spy glass among the vines to oversee her creation, her brilliance as a vintner and great business mind lives on today with Penfolds Grange being one of the most sought after wines in the world.PRAISE'An uplifting tale of dreams and resolution ... A life as rich as the wines Mary worked so hard to make' Sydney Morning Herald'An inspiring portrait .. A pioneer who proved that women could lead in industry at a time when they were rarely acknowledged' Books+Publishing