She Shapes History (Sita Sargeant, Hardie Grant Explore)

At the heart of Australia’s geography and history lies a wealth of stories about women who have helped shape the nation – yet many remain untold and underexplored. Sita Sargeant’s She Shapes History: Guided Walks and Stories of Great Australian Women seeks to change that, inviting readers to explore the places where women made history, step by step. The book grew from Sargeant’s 2023 journey across Australia to uncover key sites in women’s history, building on her Canberra-based guided walks launched two years earlier. In a country where fewer than four per cent of commemorative statues honour women, this book provides a much-needed guide to significant landmarks in 30 cities and towns across Australia. Choose ‘Main Walk’ for structured walking tours, ‘Go Your Own Way’ to create your own experience with suggested people and places to explore, or ‘Road Trip!’ for long-distance routes across regions. From hidden gems in the nation’s capital to the Brisbane’s Women’s Lying-In Hospital and Tasmania’s Queen’s Orphan School and Cascade Female Factory, She Shapes History illuminates the spaces where women left their mark and shares valuable stories. The book is thoughtfully designed and organised by state and city, with colour-coordinated pages and easily readable maps that create a handcrafted, scrapbook-like feel. It will resonate with admirers of Clare Wright’s books and readers of historical surveys such as Rosalind Miles’s Rebel Women and Philippa Gregory’s Normal Women.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Heidi Maier has a PhD in women's studies and literature. She has been an arts and literary writer and reviewer for more than 20 years. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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