Rosa Praed

The Insane Root (Dodo Press) Rosa Praed

Rosa Campbell Praed (1851-1935), often credited as Mrs Campbell Praed (and also known as Rosa Caroline Praed), was an Australian novelist. Her large bibliography covered multiple genres, and books for children as well as adults. She has been described as the first Australian novelist to achieve a significant international reputation. Rosa had a passion for reading and writing from childhood. Many of her early experiences were used for the political and social life of her early books. In 1880 she published her first book, An Australian Heroine. This book was followed by Policy and Passion (1881), one of the best of her earlier books. Mrs Campbell Praed never lost her interest in her native country and though most of her life was passed in England, a large proportion of her novels were based on her Australian experiences. Others dealt with the occult, with spiritualism, or with abnormal states of mind. She also wrote Australian Life: Black and White (1885), The Romance of a Station (1889), Fugitive Anne (1903), Lady Bridget in the Never-Never Land (1915), and The Insane Root (1902).