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Vida: A Woman for our time

Vida reveals a captivating portrait of the first woman in the Western world to run for a national parliament. In 1903, after a gruelling election campaign Vida Goldstein was defeated. Undeterred, she ran for parliament a further four times. Despite the challenges, Vida blazed a trail, not just a woman ahead of her time, but a woman for our time.

When writing a biography of another famous female politician, Julia Gillard, Jacqueline Kent was struck by the trajectory of Australian women in politics. Kent draws parallels between Vida’s experience and that of Julia Gillard, Julie Bishop, and others. Vida’s story is not ancient history. It is the first chapter in a story that is still being written.

Extra info

From her birthplace in Portland, Victoria in 1869 to the glittering tide of wealth in Melbourne’s 1880s and through depressions and war, VIDA: A Woman for Our Time investigates the alchemy of Vida Goldstein’s making – her remarkable contributions, her rise to international fame and her disappearance from politics.

Despite her formidable achievements, during her career she was ridiculed by the media and criticized by men and women alike. By the time of her death in Melbourne in 1949 she had all but vanished from public life. Today her name is largely unknown outside of scholarly circles.

About the Author Acclaimed biographer and journalist, Jacqueline Kent was born in Sydney and grew up there and in Adelaide. A Certain Style: Beatrice Davis, A Literary Life won the 2002 National Biography Award and the Nita B. Kibble Award. An Exacting Heart: The Story of Hephzibah Menuhin won the 2009 Nita B. Kibble Award. Beyond Words, A Year with Kenneth Cook was published to acclaim in 2019. She lives in Sydney.

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