Parrot Pie For Breakfast: An Anthology of Women Pioneers - Softcover

'Jane Robinson's anthology contains some startling information.... there is more to this slim book than drama. We hear a variety of female voices and views. Some of the entries are touching and others amusing. Perhaps the most appealing aspect is the impression of the everyday joys and struggles of women accustoming themselves to the challenges of life in the British Empire.' - Anastasia Tolstoy, Literary Review, October 1999

'The 100 plus voices that make up this anthology are ruch and varied, ranging from missionaries to prostitutes and gold diggers to distressed gentlewomen hunting for husbands... For tips on how best to cook kangaroo meat, shoot quick and count your blessings - this is the book.'- Daily Mail, 1.10.99

'Jane Robinson has a good touch with titles.' - The Sunday Times, 10.10.99

There is nothing quite like parrot pie for breakfast. First one must catch one's parrot, of course, and build the hearth to bake it, but that is all in a days work for the woman pioneer. This riveting anthology tells the story of over 100 such women spanning four centuries, from the lowliest kitchen skivvy to ambassadors' wives: emigrants who settled the wildernesses of the world in search of new and better lives. Many were lured abroad by the promise of work or fortune; some went because imperial duty called, while for others it was a most unfeminine lust for adventure that drew them away. But all faced challenges in their homes from home that were to test to the limit their spirits, their resourcefulness, even their survival.