A new voice for iconic bush tale

$<p>Kyra Geddes with Henry Lawson and her book The Book Thief inspired by Lawson\\'s The Drovers Wife. PHOTO: Kyra Geddes </p>\\n$

Kyra Geddes with Henry Lawson and her book The Book Thief inspired by Lawson's The Drovers Wife. PHOTO: Kyra Geddes

During a talk at Grenfell Public Library, Kyra Geddes delved into her book 'The Story Thief', a tribute to Henry Lawson, sharing her research and inspirations with an enthusiastic audience at the Henry Lawson Festival.

June 17, 2026 • 05:00

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A large and welcoming audience enjoyed author Kyra Geddes' talk about her book The Story Thief at Grenfell Public Library as part of The Grenfell Henry Lawson Festival of Arts.

Kyra explained her book is a retelling of Henry Lawson's The Drovers Wife and spoke about Lawson's mother Louisa and his life.

She shared her extensive research and various sources, and key literary, artistic, historical and personal inspirations.

Described as both a feminist retelling of The Drover's Wife and a tribute to Henry Lawson, the book follows the life of Lillian and her journey against the backdrop of Australian history, using art and literature, from 1900 to the 50s.

The audience had some insightful questions about language, publishing and next project plans and of course gave guest speaker Kyra Geddes a round of applause.