A NORTHERN Irish writer's journey to Bathurst more than five years ago supplied the conclusion to her new book.
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Diana Gleadhill was at Bathurst Cemetery in January 2017 to see the unveiling of a headstone and plaque at the formerly unmarked grave of novelist, traveller and adventurer Beatrice Ethel Grimshaw.
"Until now, very little has been published about this extraordinary woman: only a handful of scholarly articles have been written about her, and there was no book-length study or biography," Ms Gleadhill said.
"But Grimshaw deserved greater recognition, for not only was she a prolific and popular writer, but she was also a pioneering woman, traveller and planter, which was unusual in the early 20th century."
Ms Gleadhill's new book Shadowing Miss Grimshaw provides that greater recognition.
She describes the book as a "unique kind of biography, aimed at general readers rather than academics".
"Shadowing Miss Grimshaw draws on archival sources, firsthand accounts, Grimshaw's own writings and newspaper material," Ms Gleadhill said.
"It examines, for the first time, her life and work, focusing on her travels and adventures in the South Pacific."
Running parallel to the biographical narrative is an account of Ms Gleadhill's own travels to the South Sea Islands, New Zealand and Australia, as she conducted her research shadowing Ms Grimshaw's spirit.
The book ends in 2017 with Ms Gleadhill's attendance as guest of honour at the unveiling of the plaque at Ms Grimshaw's previously unmarked grave in Bathurst.
IN OTHER NEWS AROUND BATHURST:
So, who is Beatrice Grimshaw?
Born in 1870 at Cloona House, Dunmurry (near Belfast), Ireland, into a well-established business family, she was educated in Belfast, France and England.
She moved to Dublin at the age of 21, where she subedited the Irish Cyclist magazine and, later, the Social Review.
In 1897, she published her first novel, Broken Away, a literary romance set in Dublin.
She went to London in 1902, where, with what Ms Gleadhill describes as a certain amount of bravado, she secured a job with a shipping company and travelled to the South Pacific.
"She stayed for some length of time at most of the islands, which she explored, learning much about the natives," Ms Gleadhill said.
"She eventually made her home in Papua New Guinea, where she lived from 1907 to 1934, earning her living as a planter, journalist, travel writer, and novelist, publishing in excess of 40 books, all set in and around the South Sea Islands.
"Two of her books were made into films. Her travel books include From Fiji To The Cannibal Islands (1907) and In The Strange South Seas (1908)."
Having suffered frequent episodes of malaria, Ms Grimshaw left Papua in 1934 for Australia and settled in Bathurst, where she died in 1953 at the age of 82. She never married.
Ms Gleadhill hopes the publication of her book - with what she describes as a liberal use of photographs - will "bring this redoubtable woman to the attention of a new audience".
"It will also consolidate her place as one of the most outstanding women travellers of the early 20th century, and complement efforts to rehabilitate neglected women writers from Ireland," she said.
Shadowing Miss Grimshaw is available for purchase from Amazon.