This extraordinary biography of Robin Hyde (Iris Wilkinson) fills a major gap in our literary history.

The Book of Iris is a gripping and profoundly moving story which includes appalling accounts of hidden pregnancies, experience as a solo mother, dependence on drugs, intimate acquaintance with sexism and poverty, mental breakdown, an extraordinary trip in China during the Sino-Japanese war.

Hyde is revealed here, especially in her letters, as a feisty, witty, courageous woman rather than the languid and sentimental adolescent laughed at by contemporaryy male writers.

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. . . a compelling account of the life of a courageous and driven writer. – Anne Pender, Times Literary Supplement