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y separately published work icon The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh single work   biography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2016... 2016 The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The legend of Kate Leigh, Sydney’s famed brothel madam, sly grog seller and drug dealer, has loomed large in TV’s Underbelly and every other account of Sydney’s criminal history from the 1920s to the 1960s. But she has never had a biography of her own.'

'Despite having more than 100 criminal convictions to her name, Kate Leigh is also remembered as a local hero, giving money to needy families and supporting her local community through the hard times of Depression and war. Here, novelist and historian Leigh Straw teases out the full story of how this wayward Reformatory girl from Dubbo made a fortune in eastern Sydney and defied the gender stereotyping of the time to become a leading underworld figure.' (Source: Newsouth Books website)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Sydney, New South Wales,: NewSouth Publishing , 2016 .
      image of person or book cover 6798164695401959728.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Newsouth Books website
      Extent: 272p.
      Description: illus., ports
      Note/s:
      • Includes bibliography and index
      ISBN: 9781742234793 (pbk)
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  • Large print.
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Works about this Work

[Review] The Worst Woman in Sydney and Lillian Armfield Kay Saunders , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , October no. 2 2019; (p. 159-162)
— Review of Liliam Armfield Leigh Straw , 2018 single work biography ; The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh Leigh Straw , 2016 single work biography
A Criminal Record: Women and Australian True Crime Stories Rachel Franks , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 7 November 2017;

'Women have always been central to true crime stories: as victims, perpetrators, readers, and (increasingly) as tellers of these tales. Indeed, these tales, often dismissed as sensationalised violence, offer important opportunities to reflect on crime and crime control.

'Many true crime writers today – including numerous women, working in a once male-dominated market – have been biographers, coroners, detectives, historians, journalists, lawyers, and psychologists. These backgrounds bring a style of storytelling that educates us about, not just merely entertains us with, crime. Importantly, many privilege complex and nuanced storytelling over simplistic stereotypes of women as just 'bad' or just 'good'. (Introduction)
The Worst Woman in Sydney Steven Carroll , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 July 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh Leigh Straw , 2016 single work biography 'Kate Leigh (1881-1964) seems to have had some cracking criminal competition for the title of Sydney's worst woman, but the police bestowed the honour on her. ...'
The Matriarch Sara Dowse , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Inside Story , August 2016;
— Review of The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh Leigh Straw , 2016 single work biography

'Was Kate Leigh a bad woman, the worst in Sydney?'
Rachel Fuller Reviews 'The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh' by Leigh Straw Rachel Fuller , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 384 2016; (p. 71)
— Review of The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh Leigh Straw , 2016 single work biography
The Worst Woman in Sydney Steven Carroll , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 9 July 2016; (p. 22)
— Review of The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh Leigh Straw , 2016 single work biography 'Kate Leigh (1881-1964) seems to have had some cracking criminal competition for the title of Sydney's worst woman, but the police bestowed the honour on her. ...'
Rachel Fuller Reviews 'The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh' by Leigh Straw Rachel Fuller , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , September no. 384 2016; (p. 71)
— Review of The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh Leigh Straw , 2016 single work biography
The Matriarch Sara Dowse , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Inside Story , August 2016;
— Review of The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh Leigh Straw , 2016 single work biography

'Was Kate Leigh a bad woman, the worst in Sydney?'
[Review] The Worst Woman in Sydney and Lillian Armfield Kay Saunders , 2019 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , October no. 2 2019; (p. 159-162)
— Review of Liliam Armfield Leigh Straw , 2018 single work biography ; The Worst Woman in Sydney : The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh Leigh Straw , 2016 single work biography
A Criminal Record: Women and Australian True Crime Stories Rachel Franks , 2017 single work essay
— Appears in: The Conversation , 7 November 2017;

'Women have always been central to true crime stories: as victims, perpetrators, readers, and (increasingly) as tellers of these tales. Indeed, these tales, often dismissed as sensationalised violence, offer important opportunities to reflect on crime and crime control.

'Many true crime writers today – including numerous women, working in a once male-dominated market – have been biographers, coroners, detectives, historians, journalists, lawyers, and psychologists. These backgrounds bring a style of storytelling that educates us about, not just merely entertains us with, crime. Importantly, many privilege complex and nuanced storytelling over simplistic stereotypes of women as just 'bad' or just 'good'. (Introduction)
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Last amended 6 Mar 2020 13:08:15
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