Desert queen

the long version

"Born into modest circumstances in Ireland in 1859 and orphaned by the age of six, Daisy Bates' prospects were dim. But through strength of will she pulled herself up to become governess, wife, mother, journalist, intrepid traveller and one of Australia's most controversial ethnographers. The mistress of reinvention, once in Australia, Daisy was able to pass herself off as a member of the aristocracy. Marriage followed - first to the young Breaker Morant, then bigamously to two other husbands. But her lack of convention went deeper than her private life; at a time when white Australia mostly turned its back on indigenous Australians, Daisy set out to study desert Aborigines and document their culture. She would eventually spend 16 years living in a tent in outback Australia tending and documenting desert tribes."--Provided by publisher.