AustLit

'In 1988, Australia celebrated the Bicentenary of European settlement in the Australian continent. Once inaugurated, this event was soon endowed with great historical and political importance. This “national celebration” became a discursive field in which different political forces carried out their struggle against each other. Joan Makes History (1988) by Australian woman writer Kate Grenville is a typical Bicentennial novel, reflecting a distinct climate of expectations, values and interests of that period; it is also a consequence of a feminist writer’s active involvement in this highly influential national debate and her endeavor to occupy a position in the Bicentenary nationalist discursive system.' (Publication abstract)