About the Author

Lauren Chater is the author of the bestselling historical novel The Lace Weaver and the baking compendium Well Read Cookies: Beautiful biscuits inspired by great literature. She is currently working on her third novel, The Winter Dress, inspired by a real 17th century gown found off the Dutch coast in 2014. In her spare time, she loves baking and listening to her children tell their own stories. She lives in Sydney. For more Lauren, see: www.laurenchater.com www.thewellreadcookie.com www.instagram.com/the_well_read_cookie www.facebook.com/LaurenChaterWriter www.twitter.com/WellReadCookie

Reviews

'Lauren Chater's Mary Gulliver is an extraordinary character - a performer of everyday miracles, a woman of quiet strength and compassion in a world where nothing can be relied on, least of all her flamboyant fantasist of a husband. Set in a fictional past, this superbly written story of love, loss, motherhood, and letting go is highly relevant to the issues we face today. Do not miss it.' -- Meg Keneally, author of Fled
'Bold, evocative and brave - Gulliver's Wife is a revelation in story-telling. I am in awe of Lauren Chater's talent. Gulliver's Wife had my heart from the opening line and didn't let go until long after I finished the final page. An exquisitely told tale of love, loss and the magic of life.' -- Tess Woods, author of Love and Other Battles
'A vividly imagined and gloriously told tale. Gulliver's Wife explores both the wonders and terrors of life as a woman in eighteenth century England and brings Mary Gulliver powerfully and enthrallingly to life.' -- Natasha Lester, author of The French Photographer
'Filled with evocative details of life in early 1700s London, Gulliver's Wife is an enthralling reimagining of the lives of the women around Lemuel Gulliver, and an invitation to consider the untold stories of women throughout the history of literature.' -- Sarah Armstrong, author of His Other House
'Gulliver's Wife is exquisite, empathetic and engrossing storytelling from an extraordinarily gifted writer.' -- Wendy Dunn, Backstory journal
'Gulliver's Wife is utterly spellbinding. Lauren Chater is a master of story-weaving and exquisite detail. I adored this book.' -- Melissa Ashley, bestselling author of The Birdman's Wife
'A beautifully written novel that maintains a page-turning pace, heightened suspense and literal wonder on every page' -- Cass Moriarty, author of The Promise Seed
Absorbing, insightful and finely imagined, Gulliver's Wife evokes the life of eighteenth-century London, from the grittiness of its dark streets and seedy docks to the intensity of the birthing chamber. In its powerful portrayal of woman's struggle for agency and control of her body, the novel presses its face into our own day. -- Robyn Cadwallader, author of The Anchoress
'Chater's Gulliver's Wife is a richly imagined tale that unravels the love between a mother and her daughter: it is a book of fears and secrets, of dark battles, of fraught but tender reconciliations, and of sweet epiphanies. Vivid storytelling from an exceptional writer.' -- Catherine McKinnon, author of Storyland (nominated for the 2018 Miles Franklin Literary Award)
'Wise, tender and heartening ... Chater shows a deft hand in authentically recreating the challenges and injustices faced by the spirited women in her novel so that their setbacks and triumphs felt like my own' -- Sally Piper, author of The Geography of Friendship
'An imaginative tour-de-force!' -- Bestselling author Kate Forsyth
'An absolutely gripping read, with a powerful and ultimately hopeful story to tell' -- Booktopia
'Gorgeous, immersive, stealthily feminist ... all about mothers and daughters, the skill and care of midwives and being in charge of your own life when you live in a society where you have no power and few rights' -- Emily Maguire, author of An Isolated Incident
'The most impressive aspect of this novel is the finely tuned and nuanced treatment of the relationship between a mother and her rebellious teenage daughter.' * Sydney Morning Herald *
'A heartfelt tale of female solidarity.' * Daily Telegraph *