Cassandra Pybus
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Cassandra Jean Pybus FAHA (born 29 September 1947) is an Australian historian and writer. She is a former professorial fellow in history at the University of Sydney, and has published extensively on Australian and American history.cite-ref-usyd-1-0[1]
Pybus was born in Hobart, Tasmania and educated at North Sydney Girls High School and the University of Sydney.cite-ref-whoswho-2-0[2] Her mother, Betty Pybus, was a pioneer of women's health in Sydney and Tasmania.cite-ref-hrow-3-0[3]
From 1989 to 1994, Pybus was editor of the literary magazine Island. She won the Colin Roderick Award in 1993 for Gross Moral Turpitude, a re-examination of the case of Sydney Sparkes Orr, a Northern Irish academic who became embroiled in a scandal involving a relationship with a student whilst working at the University of Tasmania.cite-ref-roderick-4-0[4] In 2000, she won an Adelaide Festival Award for Literature for The Devil and James McAuley, a biography of the poet James McAuley.cite-ref-mcauley-5-0[5]
Pybus was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for outstanding contribution to Tasmanian and Australian literature and education.cite-ref-centmedal-6-0[6]
In 2020 she was shortlisted for the Nonfiction Book Award at the Queensland Literary Awards for Truganini: Journey Through the Apocalypsecite-ref-7[7] and for the Nonfiction prize at the 2021 Indie Book Awardscite-ref-8[8] as well as the 2021 Biography book of the year at the Australian Book Industry Awards with Truganini.cite-ref-9[9] In August 2021 she won the National Biography Award with Truganini,cite-ref-10[10] while in November 2021 she was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.cite-ref-11[11]
Her 2024 book, A Very Secret Trade, was shortlisted for the 2025 Victorian Premier's Prize for Nonfiction.cite-ref-3-12-0[12]
Contents
• Books
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Books
• A Very Secret Trade: The Dark Story of Gentlemen Collectors in Tasmania (2024)
• Truganini: Journey Through the Apocalypse (2020)cite-ref-13[13]
• Enterprising Women: Gender Race and Power in the Revolutionary Atlantic (with Kit Candlin; 2015)cite-ref-14[14]
• Other Middle Passages (edited with Marcus Rediker and Emma Christopher; 2007)cite-ref-15[15]
• Epic Journeys of Freedom: Runaway slaves of the American Revolution and their global quest for liberty (2006)cite-ref-16[16]
• Black Founders: The unknown story of Australia's first black settlers (2006)cite-ref-17[17]
• The Woman who Walked to Russia: A writer's search for a lost legend (2002)cite-ref-18[18]
• American Citizens, British Slaves: Yankee political prisoners in an Australian penal colony, 1839–1850 (with Hamish Maxwell-Stewart; 2002)cite-ref-19[19]
• Raven Road (2001)cite-ref-20[20]
• The Devil and James McAuley (1999)cite-ref-21[21]
• Till Apples Grow on an Orange Tree (1998)cite-ref-22[22]
• White Rajah: A Dynastic Intrigue (1996)cite-ref-23[23]
• Gross Moral Turpitude: The Orr Case Reconsidered (1993)cite-ref-24[24]
• Community of Thieves (1991)cite-ref-25[25]
References
cite-note-usyd-11. ↑ "Professor Cassandra Pybus". Department of History. University of Sydney. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
cite-note-whoswho-22. ↑ Who's Who in Australia, ConnectWeb
cite-note-hrow-33. ↑ "Betty Jean Vyvyan Pybus OAM". Honour Roll of Women. Government of Tasmania. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
cite-note-roderick-44. ↑ "Colin Roderick Award". James Cook University. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
cite-note-mcauley-55. ↑ "Tasmania: The Tipping Point?". University of Sydney. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
cite-note-centmedal-66. ↑ "PYBUS, Cassandra". It's an Honour. Australian Government. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
cite-note-77. ↑ "Queensland Literary Awards 2020 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 5 August 2020. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
cite-note-88. ↑ "Indie Book Awards 2021 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 20 January 2021. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
cite-note-99. ↑ "ABIA 2021 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 12 April 2021. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
cite-note-1010. ↑ "National Biography Award winner's announced on ABC Sydney". ABC Radio. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
cite-note-1111. ↑ "Fellow Profile: Cassandra Pybus". Australian Academy of the Humanities. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
cite-note-3-1212. ↑ "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2025 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
cite-note-1414. ↑ "Enterprising Women: Gender Race and Power in the Revolutionary Atlantic by Cassandra Pybus and Kit Cardrin". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
cite-note-1515. ↑ citerefchristopher-emma-1971-pybus-cassandra-1947-rediker-marcusebrary-inc2007Christopher, Emma, 1971-; Pybus, Cassandra, 1947-; Rediker, Marcus; ebrary, Inc (2007), Many middle passages : forced migration and the making of the modern world, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-25207-3{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)