Seventy-five years later, 13-year-old Hannah Campbell’s Yugoslavian grandfather, Nico Antonov, arrives in Australia to visit his family, and one of the gifts he brings with him is an intriguing-looking parcel wrapped in a flour sack, which Roza, Hannah’s mother, quickly hides. Later, Hannah sneaks off in search for the mysterious package. She is horrified to find in it a photo book full of ghastly historical photographs of a terrible place full of people suffering. At first Hannah has little context for what she sees, but over the years, as she experiences love, grief and trauma, she understands what these photos came to mean, for herself, her freedom and for those who risked their lives to ‘bear witness’ to history.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kirsty Manning about the role of the Mauthausen concentration camp in the Nazi regime’s grand plan, the way Kirsty’s research leads her to distil real people into fascinating characters, and how the the trauma of war filters down through generations, altering the course of their lives.

The post Kirsty Manning on a story of courage and resilience in ‘The Hidden Book’ first appeared on Good Reading.

In royal circles, there is concern about the Prince of Wales. Charles is nearing thirty and the right girl needs to be found, fast. She must be young, aristocratic and completely free of past liaisons. Pure and innocent.

Eighteen-year-old Diana Spencer is just about the only candidate. Her yearning to be loved dovetails with royal desperation for a bride. But the route to the altar is perilous. There are hidden dangers. Ruthless schemers. Can Diana’s romantic dream survive?

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Wendy Holden about creating a voice for the young Diana Spencer, the characters both real and imagined that brought Diana Spencer and Charles together, and the role the British press played in this fractured fairytale.

The post Wendy Holden on the inside story of the young Diana Spencer in ‘The Princess’ first appeared on Good Reading.

Whether it’s virtuous leaders in just wars, martyrs sacrificing all for a cause, or innovators changing the world for the better, down the centuries supposedly great men and women have risen to become household names, saints and heroes. But just how deserving are they of their reputations?

Exploring everything from Captain Scott’s reckless hunt for glory and Andy Warhol’s flagrant thievery to Coco Chanel’s murky Nazi past, Otto English dives into the hidden lives of some of history’s most recognisable names. Scrutinising figures from the worlds of art, politics, business, religion and royalty, he brings to light the murkier truths they would rather have kept buried away, at the same time as celebrating the unsung heroes lost to time.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Otto English about the narrative arc of the hero that all these candidates share, the JFK post-assassination myth constructed by Jacqueline Kennedy, the revolutionary Che Guevara who turned out to be a brutal murderer, and the curious case of the Bunyip aristocracy that Australia narrowly avoided.

The post Otto English goes in search of the truth behind the myths of our ‘Fake Heroes’ first appeared on Good Reading.

A young woman called Luna keeps luring Jane back to the present. Linked to a thirty-year cold case from Jane’s past, Luna has a quest of her own she can only solve with Jane’s help. But if Jane wants to help Luna, she first needs to heal herself, and there just might be reasons beyond the accident that are hampering Jane’s recovery.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Roger Simpson about delving into the character of Dr Jane Halifax, the frightening prospect of amnesia and Jane’s pathway to recovery, and the layers of complexity that make this story critical to understanding Jane Halifax, forensic psychiatrist.

The post Roger Simpson on Dr Jane Halifax first appeared on Good Reading.

How is her life connected to Hilda’s, almost a hundred years later, locked inside during a plague, or La’s, further on again, a singer working shifts in a warehouse as her eggs are frozen and her voice is used by AI bots? Let alone Maz, far removed in time, diving for remnants of a past that must be destroyed? Is it by the river that runs through their stories, eternal yet constantly changing – or by the mysterious Hummingbird Project, and the great question of whether the march of progress can ever be reversed?

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kate Mildenhall about bringing historical fiction and speculative fiction together to create great stories, how playing with AI and ChatGPT led to insights into what ChatGPT can do, and how working with different literary elements led her to the creation of new structures.

The post Kate Mildenhall on ‘The Hummingbird Effect’ first appeared on Good Reading.

The post Peter Papathanasiou on a sinister road trip in ‘The Pit’ first appeared on Good Reading.

In 1912, five British explorers struggle across the Antarctic landscape, through howling winds and plummeting temperatures, seeking the safety of their camp. Today, as the world’s ice sheets begin to melt and surrender their secrets, renowned glacial archaeologist Missy Simpson works to discover the true cause of the explorers’ deaths – a subject that has intrigued researchers for more than a century. In hallowed halls of learning and on the icy polar plateau, these risk-takers must grapple with the unfathomable power of the natural world and the dramatically changing weather – while navigating their own complicated relationships.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Dennis Glover about how history has treated Scott’s ill-fated expedition, why meteorologist George Clarke Simpson was central to the recounting of this story, and what it all means in the context of devastating climate change.

The post Dennis Glover on R F Scott’s Antarctic expedition in ‘Thaw’ first appeared on Good Reading.

Sports journalist Matt Majendie was welcomed into the inner circle of Nazare’s tight community to chronicle their incredible highs and terrifying lows. Follow the endeavours of Britain’s leading big-wave surfer, a former plumber from Devon, Andrew Cotton; trailblazing Brazilian female surfer Maya Gabeira; current World Record holder German Sebastian Steudtner; Portuguese Nic von Rupp and jet-ski driver Sergio Cosme, nicknamed ‘the Guardian Angel of Nazare’ for his daring rescues, in this gripping read.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Matt Majendie about what make the Nazare big waves so special, the four individuals who have conquered the ‘Everest’ of big-wave surfing – and lived to tell the tale, and how Nazare’s tight-knit group of surfers have become a community.

The post Matt Majendie on big-wave surfers in ‘Nazare’ first appeared on Good Reading.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Sam Twyford-Moore about the four generations of Australian actors and their movies that beat a path to Hollywood, the historical roller coaster ride of Australian film funding, and the missed opportunities for David Gulpilil and the Indigenous Australian film industry.

The post Sam Twyford-Moore on Australian actors in ‘Cast Mates’ first appeared on Good Reading.

Edmund Barton united the bickering states in a federation. The unlucky Jimmy Scullin took office days before Wall Street crashed into the Great Depression. John Curtin faced the ultimate challenge of wartime leadership. John Gorton, Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating each shook up their parties’ policies so vigorously that none lasted much longer than a single term. Harold Holt spent three decades in parliament, only to disappear while swimming off the coast of Victoria just under two years into his first term. John Howard’s triple bypass is the stuff of legend. Julia Gillard overthrew Kevin Rudd and Kevin Rudd overthrew Julia Gillard, thus paving the way for Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, Scott Morrison … And then came Anthony Albanese. With characteristic wit and expert knowledge, Mungo MacCallum and Frank Bongiorno bring the nation’s leaders to life in this updated edition of a classic book.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Frank Bongiorno about Mungo MacCallum’s perspective on our political leaders, the two new chapters on Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese that he has contributed to this updated edition, and the affection and admiration Mungo retained for all our Prime Ministers – good, bad or indifferent.

The post Frank Bongiorno on the ‘The Good, the Bad and the Unlikely’ first appeared on Good Reading.