AustLit

'Gretel Pinniger, dominatrix, fetishist, artist, and courtesan to the rich and famous has been shocking and outraging Australia for decades. Never shy of publicity, this introverted daughter of a handsome war hero from the Melbourne establishment once wanted to become a nun.

'Instead, she threw her leather-clad body into a world of sex, drugs and riotous parties. She danced with Elton John, catered to Clyde Packer's more creative sexual fantasies and was supported by a fabulously wealthy patron, who bequeathed her a generous allowance so long as his name was never disclosed by her.

Despite marrying and becoming a mother, there is nothing ordinary about the outlandish Gretel Pinniger. Join Sam Everingham as he takes you into the colourful reality of Australia's most misunderstood eccentric. This is a portrait as revealing, provocative and outrageous as Madam Lash herself.' (From the publisher's website.)