As a novel, this book
does not work; however, it does work as a collection of interesting information
about Daisy Bates and the period in which she lived and worked - late nineteenth century/early twentieth century. (Daisy, originally from Ireland, spent many years living in the Australian desert, studying Aboriginal culture). The writing, unfortunately, is mediocre and there is a lot of repetition
which, as the book progresses, becomes extremely irritating. Whether this
can be totally attributed to the author or to bad editing is
difficult to say.
Having read The House
of Mirth earlier in the year, it was interesting to compare Lily
Bart of that book with Daisy Bates of Desert Queen. Both women
are from the same period, and both are intent on attaining financial
and social security in what is most definitely a man's world. It is,
however, interesting to see that while Lily Bart lacks the moral
strength to achieve what she sets out to achieve and, in all
probability, commits suicide, Daisy Bates actually does have the moral strength but,
in the end, although she probably would never have admitted it, is
unable to break through the male-erected barrier to female academic
recognition. This is the book's very sad reality: had Daisy been
accepted on the same level as any male doing similar work, I doubt
that she would have spent almost twenty years camped in the desert,
handing out dishes of porridge to the native people. Instead, she
would have had economic security which, together with the acceptance
of others working in the same field, would have allowed her the
freedom to pursue her important research in a variety of directions.
That said, Daisy's vivid
imagination, and the fact that she invented an entire history for
herself, does tend to reflect badly on the complete authenticity of
her research: one cannot help but wonder where Daisy the scientist
disappears into the background and where Daisy the imaginative
story-teller takes over. However, I have chosen to accept that, in
essence, her research is probably fairly accurate. As a Christian, she
"... insisted Christianity was irrelevant for Aboriginal people
who, she thought, should maintain their unique culture and
traditional way of life..." which, I feel, says a lot about
Daisy's moral values and also about her sincerity.
Like The House of
Mirth the message in this book is depressing; however, while The
House of Mirth is beautifully written and can, therefore, be
appreciated as a work of literature, Desert Queen is a mere
collection of depressing information (much of which we must take with
a grain of salt), without the satisfaction that comes with good
writing. To sum up, I found the book interesting because of the
information about Daisy Bates, but I was totally disappointed with
the book itself.
