of the romance genre, comparatively non-stereotyped characterisation and plot. Despite her conservative politics they were also notable for their celebration of Australian egalitarianism and her promotion of women's rights at a time when (and a place where) the women's movement was largely quiescent. Her novels also reflected her devout Christianity. A striking feature of her novels was their intense feeling for landscape, almost to the extent of ascribing sentience to natural features. Her novels sold altogether around 250,000 copies in English, a phenomenal success for an Australian writer at that time. They were also translated into six languages, including Arabic. Awards In 1935, she won the King's Jubilee medal for services to literature. Bibliography The Mysterious Stranger (1913) Before an Eastern Court (1914) Muffled Drums (1914) The Captive Singer (1917) The Immortal Flame (1919) Dusk: A Novel (1921) Jewelled Nights (1923) The Moon Minstrel (1927) Monsoon Music (1930) The Rainbow Lute (1932) The Silver Knight (1934) Jungle Night (1937) Notes References Adelaide, Debra (1988) Australian Women Writers: A Bibliographic Guide, London, Pandora Alexander, Alison (1994) A Mortal Flame: Marie Bjelke Petersen Australian Romance Writer 1874–1969, Hobart, Blubber Head Press Australian Women's Archives Project (2007) Henningham, Nikki (2007) Australian Women Biographical Entry: Bjelke-Petersen, Marie Caroline (1874–1969) Pike, Andrew and Cooper, Ross (1998) Australian Film 1900–1977, Rev ed., Melbourne, Oxford University Press She's Game: Women making Australian Sporting History: Marie Bjelke-Petersen Accessed: 2007-07-28 Significant Tasmanian Women: Louise Lovely Weidenhofer, Margaret (1979) "Bjelke-Petersen, Marie Caroline (1874–1969)" in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 7, Melbourne University Press, pp 300–301 Accessed: 2007-07-27 Wilde, W., Hooton, J. & Andrews, B (1994) The Oxford Companion of Australian Literature 2nd ed. South Melbourne, Oxford University Press 1874 births 1969 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian women writers Australian women novelists Danish emigrants to Australia Danish women novelists People associated with physical culture Writers from Copenhagen 19th-century Australian women