Melissa Lucashenko on her 2024 Historical Novel Society award-winning novel, 'Edenglassie'

When Mulanyin meets the beautiful Nita in Edenglassie, their saltwater people still outnumber the British. As colonial unrest peaks, Mulanyin dreams of taking his bride home to Yugambeh Country, but his plans for independence collide with white justice. Two centuries later, fiery activist Winona meets Dr Johnny. Together they care for obstinate centenarian Granny Eddie, and sparks fly, but not always in the right direction. What nobody knows is how far the legacies of the past will reach into their modern lives.In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Melissa Lucashenko about what historical fiction stories can they tell us about our past and our present, the sources Melissa draws on to create her carefully drawn characters, and the hope she harbours for the future of First Nations storytelling and the nation as a whole.