Quite a few years ago now, I was sent Libby Hathorn‘s book ‘Woman of Flowers’ to consider for adaptation to screen by the publishers Hachette Australia.
Georgiana Molloy moved to Western Australia with her new husband in 1829. WA was very different to the gentile English countryside and Georgiana had a lot of trouble settling in. The eminent botanist James Mangles asked Georgiana to collect specimens for his research. A new world opened up for her and she thrived, loving the native plants and documenting them carefully. Her samples were packed with such care, Mangles sent them on to colleagues who actually managed to grow and study new species from the meticulously packed seeds.
Meticulously researched, Libby’s book provided both a factual and fictional view which I loved after reading it as a subject for adaptation.
I thought it would make a good TV Series but discovered that a local company was busy doing a lot of research on the same subject, seemed well advanced with plans to do something similar, so I judged it not the right time.
6 years on, others have since documented Georgiana’s wonderful achievements over the years, particularly the ABC National Radio but nothing like I envisaged.
As I’ve said, I’d love to give her a new life – a dramatic screen life.
So any producers out there – maybe now is the right time!
#FrancesMacaulayForde #LibbyHathorn #GeorgianaMolloy #WomanOfFlowers #WAWildflowers #WAPioneers #Books #AdaptationToScreen #AdaptingBooks
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