Where’s Moon?’ follows a day in the life of June, a toddler who is searching for the moon! The story was written by Speech Pathologist, Olivia Purvis, and edited by her sister, Amelia. The story was inspired by their young nephew, Sebastian, who innocently enquired about the Moon’s whereabouts one day. Olivia’s inner Speech Pathologist could not resist weaving a strong narrative with a variety of language features to support emergent literacy during shared book reading. The story works in harmony with the illustrations to invoke a sense of wonder while making subtle references to Australian culture. This “cheeky” book is sure to capture the hearts of young and old!

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Olivia Purvis about the origins of Where's Moon?, how elements of her speech pathology training found their way into the book, and the importance of an enthusiastic caregiver in engaging young children and enhancing language development.

The Haunting of Mr and Mrs Stevenson tells the story of Robert Louis Stevenson’s friendship with the charming Eugene Chantrelle and the murder mystery that contributed to Robert’s need to create a novel focused on the dualistic nature of the psyche.

From a séance with the Shelleys at Boscombe Manor to a haunted wardrobe made by an infamous Scottish criminal, the novel is underscored by the story of two writers very much in love. Fanny and Robert were married in 1880, when she was forty and he was twenty-nine. An American who divorced her philandering husband to marry Robert, she was already the mother of children, a self-supporting writer, and with intelligence and wit very much the rock in their relationship.

Brilliantly told in Fanny’s voice, this atmospheric novel is both the story of an unconventional literary relationship and a page-turning mystery that reveals the truth about the people, objects and events that inspired Stevenson to write The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Belinda Lyons Lee about her fascination with all things nineteenth century, the remarkable Fanny Osbourne Stevenson, and how a haunted wardrobe may have been the genesis of a literary classic.

In the dying days of the Roman republic, a remarkable woman steps out of the shadows and beyond the boundaries imposed on her sex, driven by an unstoppable ambition. Kaarina Parker's stunning debut novel, told in the compelling voice of this brilliant woman from history, brings Fulvia and the society in which she lived vividly to life.

Born into a wealthy but unimportant family, Fulvia is raised in the peace of the Etruscan countryside but longs for a life of excitement and influence. When her father dies and her inheritance is threatened, she makes her way to the city of Rome to secure her future.

Motivated by both passion and opportunism, Fulvia marries Clodius, a hedonistic young senator. They are perfect partners - risk takers, scornful of convention and eager for change. Although Clodius is heir to a leading aristocratic family, he has spent his life criticising the rules of his class and championing the common people. As a wife and mother, Fulvia fulfils her role in a society that denies women any influence outside the home - but she is also a ruthless political strategist, intent on seeing her husband rise through the ranks of Rome's governing body, the senate. And, through him, wielding her own authority. But Rome is a dangerous place, and power can become notoriety overnight. Fulvia soon learns just how high the stakes really are, and that her ambitions may come at a terrible cost.

In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Kaarina Parker about her passion for Roman history, the hedonsim of the late Roman Empire, and how Fulvia, a young woman from the provinces, rose to become one of its most influential citizens.