Julia Baird

From the bestselling author of Phosphorescence comes a beautiful and timely exploration of that most mysterious but necessary of human grace.Grace is both mysterious and hard to define. It can be found, in part, when we create ways to find meaning and dignity in connection with each other, building on our shared humanity, being kinder, bigger, better with each other. If, in its crudest interpretation, karma is getting what you deserve, then grace is the forgiving the unforgivable, favouring the undeserving, loving the unlovable.But we live in an era where grace is an increasingly rare currency. The silos we consume information in are dotting the media landscape like skyscrapers, and the growing distrust in media, politicians and public figures, have in some ways choked our ability to cut each other slack, to allow each other to stumble, to forgive one another.So what does grace look like in our world, and how do we recognise it, nurture it in ourselves, and express it, even in the darkest of times?From award-winning journalist Julia Baird, author of the acclaimed national bestseller Phosphorescence , comes Bright Shining , a luminously beautiful, deeply insightful and most timely exploration of grace.

A powerful insight into how the media treats female politicians - now revised and updated with a new foreword by Annabel Crabb - from one of our foremost journalists and political commentators, Julia Baird. 'History is crucial. We need to know that treating women as decorations, subordinates and playthings, even and sometimes especially in our houses of power, is not new. We know that from the moment women walked into parliament and took up space alongside men, they have been treated as objects ... When men were featured often in the press, they were rising stars. When women were featured often in the press, they were media tarts'. Julia Baird's seminal work, Media Tarts, was originally published in 2004. Based on a series of extensive interviews, the book provides an in-depth analysis of the influence of a generation of prominent female politicians on the Australian political system, exploring the part played by the press in their downfall. Almost two decades later, it is evident how little has changed. Now revisited and updated with a new foreword, Media Tarts is essential reading from one of our foremost journalists and political commentators, providing a powerful, sobering and incisive insight into how deep the currents of misogyny run, and how the media continues to treat female politicians. If we want to understand what is happening today, and avoid the endless repeating of the same story, we need to reckon with our past. 'Julia Baird's Media Tarts is a gripping account of how the media have treated women politicians. While the tone of the book is even-handed, reading the history is at times gruesome, like watching a demolition derby...In Baird's hands, it is a great political story.' Sydney Morning Herald 'Readable, authoritative and thought-provoking.' The Age 'I found Media Tarts striking and instructive when first I read it. In a new era of attentiveness to women's experience, let its new iteration fire the pistons of change.' Annabel Crabb

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER ‘This book is beautiful … Julia Baird has been to the tough edges and gives us light. She writes like a dream.’ MATT HAIG ’Utterly captivating and magical.’ JULIA BRADBURY ‘Luminous and deeply comforting’ KATHERINE MAY Julia Baird’s intimate study of phosphorescence is full of wisdom and joy; a roadmap for rediscovering our inner light after the darkest of times. We now know just how much we should treasure the times when we feel happy, content and at peace. When we feel this way we seek out life’s experiences with a sense of optimism and hope. But how do we move forward with life now that everything has changed? Now that we appreciate just how fragile and fleeting these feelings can be? Is it possible to access a light – our own source of phosphorescence – that can sustain us in this brave new world? In this wise and inspiring book, bestselling author Julia Baird reflects on her encounters with phosphorescence, a luminescent phenomenon found in the nature, and how she was able to cultivate her own ‘inner light’ in the face of a life-threatening illness. When we spend time in nature, humble ourselves to the mystery of the world, and recognise the ‘soothing power of the ordinary’, we are able to discover hidden sources of strength and resilience. It is these experiences that sustain us, help us place one foot in front of the other and cultivate our own essential light which will light our path in good times and bad.

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER ‘This book is beautiful … Julia Baird has been to the tough edges and gives us light. She writes like a dream.’ MATT HAIG ’Utterly captivating and magical.’ JULIA BRADBURY ‘Luminous and deeply comforting’ KATHERINE MAY Julia Baird’s intimate study of phosphorescence is full of wisdom and joy; a roadmap for rediscovering our inner light after the darkest of times. We now know just how much we should treasure the times when we feel happy, content and at peace. When we feel this way we seek out life’s experiences with a sense of optimism and hope. But how do we move forward with life now that everything has changed? Now that we appreciate just how fragile and fleeting these feelings can be? Is it possible to access a light – our own source of phosphorescence – that can sustain us in this brave new world? In this wise and inspiring book, bestselling author Julia Baird reflects on her encounters with phosphorescence, a luminescent phenomenon found in the nature, and how she was able to cultivate her own ‘inner light’ in the face of a life-threatening illness. When we spend time in nature, humble ourselves to the mystery of the world, and recognise the ‘soothing power of the ordinary’, we are able to discover hidden sources of strength and resilience. It is these experiences that sustain us, help us place one foot in front of the other and cultivate our own essential light which will light our path in good times and bad.

The extraordinary story of the world's most influential, intriguing and surprising ruler, Queen Victoria. When Alexandrina Victoria was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 20 June 1837, she was 18 years old and barely five feet tall. Her subjects were fascinated and intrigued; some felt sorry for her. Writer Thomas Carlyle, watching her gilded coach draw away from the coronation, said: 'Poor little Queen, she is at an age at which a girl can hardly be trusted to choose a bonnet for herself; yet a task is laid upon her from which an archangel might shrink.' Queen Victoria is long dead, but in truth she has shaped us from the grave. She was a tiny, powerful woman who reigned for an astonishing 64 years. By the time of her Diamond Jubilee Procession in 1897, she reigned over a fourth of the inhabitable part of the world, had 400 million subjects, and had given birth to nine children. Suffrage, anti-poverty and anti-slavery movements can all be traced to her monumental reign, along with a profound rethinking of family life and the rise of religious doubt. When she died, in 1901, she was the longest reigning monarch in English history. Victoria is truly the woman who made the modern world. A fascinating, provocative and authoritative new biography of Queen Victoria which will make us see her in a new light, from one of Australia's most admired and respected journalists and commentators, Julia Baird.

The much-admired, critically-praised and bestselling biography of Queen Victoria, from one of Australia's most admired and respected journalists and commentators, Julia Baird. When Alexandrina Victoria was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 20 June 1837, she was 18 years old and barely five feet tall. Her subjects were fascinated and intrigued; some felt sorry for her. Writer Thomas Carlyle, watching her gilded coach draw away from the coronation, 'Poor little Queen, she is at an age at which a girl can hardly be trusted to choose a bonnet for herself; yet a task is laid upon her from which an archangel might shrink.' Queen Victoria is long dead, but in truth she has shaped us from the grave. She was a tiny, powerful woman who reigned for an astonishing 64 years. By the time of her Diamond Jubilee Procession in 1897, she reigned over a fourth of the inhabitable part of the world, had 400 million subjects, and had given birth to nine children. Suffrage, anti-poverty and anti-slavery movements can all be traced to her monumental reign, along with a profound rethinking of family life and the rise of religious doubt. When she died, in 1901, she was the longest reigning monarch in English history. Victoria is truly the woman who made the modern world. A fascinating, provocative and authoritative new biography of Queen Victoria which will make us see her in a new light, from one of Australia's most admired and respected journalists and commentators, Julia Baird. 'Julia Baird's exquisitely wrought and meticulously researched biography brushes the dusty myth off this extraordinary monarch. Right out of the gate, the book thrums with authority as Baird builds her portrayal of Victoria. Overturning stereotypes, she rips this queen down to the studs and creates her anew.' The New York Times

The true story for fans of the PBS Masterpiece series Victoria, this page-turning biography reveals the real woman behind the myth: a bold, glamorous, unbreakable queen--a Victoria for our times. Drawing on previously unpublished papers, this stunning new portrait is a story of love and heartbreak, of devotion and grief, of strength and resilience. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES - ESQUIRE - THE CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY "Victoria the Queen, Julia Baird's exquisitely wrought and meticulously researched biography, brushes the dusty myth off this extraordinary monarch."--The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice) When Victoria was born, in 1819, the world was a very different place. Revolution would threaten many of Europe's monarchies in the coming decades. In Britain, a generation of royals had indulged their whims at the public's expense, and republican sentiment was growing. The Industrial Revolution was transforming the landscape, and the British Empire was commanding ever larger tracts of the globe. In a world where women were often powerless, during a century roiling with change, Victoria went on to rule the most powerful country on earth with a decisive hand. Fifth in line to the throne at the time of her birth, Victoria was an ordinary woman thrust into an extraordinary role. As a girl, she defied her mother's meddling and an adviser's bullying, forging an iron will of her own. As a teenage queen, she eagerly grasped the crown and relished the freedom it brought her. At twenty, she fell passionately in love with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, eventually giving birth to nine children. She loved sex and delighted in power. She was outspoken with her ministers, overstepping conventional boundaries and asserting her opinions. After the death of her adored Albert, she began a controversial, intimate relationship with her servant John Brown. She survived eight assassination attempts over the course of her lifetime. And as science, technology, and democracy were dramatically reshaping the world, Victoria was a symbol of steadfastness and security--queen of a quarter of the world's population at the height of the British Empire's reach. Drawing on sources that include fresh revelations about Victoria's relationship with John Brown, Julia Baird brings vividly to life the fascinating story of a woman who struggled with so many of the things we do today: balancing work and family, raising children, navigating marital strife, losing parents, combating anxiety and self-doubt, finding an identity, searching for meaning.