Emboldened by Belinda Alexandra

 

I love autobiography and biography, and Emboldened is a combination of both. In this very interesting book Belinda Alexandra talks about being emboldened herself and then, through the pages, she tells the stories of four emboldened women: her mother, Tatiana Morosoff; the Second World War spy, Virginia Hall;  the great flamenco dancer, Carmen Anaya; and Edna Walling, the famous landscape designer. They all became emboldened when they chose their paths through life which Belinda did also when she emerged from a shattering experience determined to regain control of her own destiny.

Belinda’s mother and grandmother came to Australia from China as White Russian refugees and Belinda absorbed their culture, as well  as that of her Australian father. She was a strong, independent girl who travelled much of the world by herself, always knowing that she would  eventually achieve her ambition to become a writer one day. Something happened to destabilise her and this book deals with how Belinda coped with that part of her life.

The biographies within the book are all of inspirational women. By a strange coincidence, the night before I started reading Emboldened I watched a film in which the two principal characters were Virginia Hall and Vera Atkinson. I realise now that the film was a condensed version of Virginia’s wartime experiences but it did touch on important aspects of her life. I was picturing the actress as I read today!

This is a most unusual book and the combination of autobiography and biography works very well. I congratulate Belinda Alexander and highly recommend Emboldened to lovers of thoughtful literature.

Published by Affirm Press