Join Debra Oswald as she presents her new novel about Betty, an ordinary extraordinary woman living through a century of massive change.
Meet Betty: storyteller, feminist, eternally curious and phenomenally old. On the eve ofher hundredth birthday party, Betty tells us her story.
Born into poverty in pre-war London, and growing up fast during the Blitz, Betty grabs the chance at a bigger life by migrating to Australia. On board the SS Asturias she meets three people who will influence the course of her life—Pearl, a good-hearted party girl; Athena, a Greek woman on her way to marry a man she has never met; and Leo, a German Jew who lost his family in the war.
Set against a century of world events and social upheavals, Betty's story takes us to the frontlines of the anti-war protests and the women's liberation movement of the 1970s, to the AIDS crisis during the 1980s, to living in Mexico and eventually becoming a TV screenwriter. Even in her nineties. Betty is still passionately engaged with the world, still surprising us.
About the author
Debra Oswald is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist that is also a two-time winner of the NSW Premier’s Literary Award. She was creator/head writer of the first five seasons of the successful TV series Offspring. Her stage plays have been performed around the world and published by Currency Press. Debra performed her one-woman show Is There Something Wrong With That Lady? at the Griffin Theatre in 2021 and a month-long season at the Ensemble in 2023.
Organised in partnership with Constant Reader Bookshop.