The Hobart Hotel | In Conversation with Mary-Lou Stephens (SOLD OUT)
About
Fullers Bookshop and HQ Books invite you to join Mary-Lou and Karen at The Wrest Point Hotel in the Showroom from 6.00 pm for drinks and canapés for a 7.00 pm start.A stunning gold dress, a forgotten key and a whisper through history ... the compelling new Tasmanian historical fiction from a bestselling Australian author.
December 1939: The grand opening of Australia's most glamorous and talked about hotel, the Wrest Point Riviera.The equally glamorous Sabine Winters, recently arrived in Hobart from the Continent, anticipates a safe port from the storm that rages in Europe along with a few select items of jewellery to add to her (stolen) collection. What she doesn't expect is to be blackmailed into becoming a spy, torn from the safety of Tasmania and taken to the viper's nest of intrigue and plots that is South America during the rise of Nazi power. Her instincts and charms will only get her so far ...
February 1973: The grand opening of Australia's most glamorous, talked about and controversial hotel, the Wrest Point Hotel Casino.Jenny Davies anticipates a night surrounded by dizzying decor and thrilling action. What she doesn't expect is an invitation to become a Ladybird, one of the casino's croupiers. But Jenny's choice to pursue this exclusive career creates a devastating chain of events that could destroy her life as she knows it. Can a mysterious letter and the gift of a key from a relative Jenny has never heard of somehow be the answer to all of her problems?
Mary-Lou Stephens was born in Tasmania, studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney. Eventually she got a proper job - in radio, where she was a presenter and music director, first with commercial radio and then with the ABC. She received rave reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband. The Australian called her debut novel, The Last of the Apple Blossom (2021), 'an outstanding historical novel about women and the secrets and burdens they carry'. She is also the author of the bestselling novel The Chocolate Factory (2024). Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia. Now she travels the world with her husband, slowly, and writes, mostly.
Karen Brooks is the author of sixteen books – historical fiction, historical fantasy, YA fantasy, and one non-fiction. She was an academic for over 20 years, a newspaper columnist and social commentator. She has a Ph.D. in English/Cultural Studies and has published internationally on all things popular culture, education and social psychology. An award-winning teacher, she’s taught throughout Australia and in The Netherlands and keynoted at many education conferences. Nowadays, she finds greatest contentment studying history and writing, and helping her husband in his Brewstillery, Captain Bligh’s.
People purchasing tickets will receive a discount token on the book on the night of the event.
Date
Wednesday 8 April 2026 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (UTC+11)Location
Wrest Point Hotel Showroom
410 Sandy Bay Rd, Sandy Bay TAS 7005
Contact Form
The Hobart Hotel | In Conversation with Mary-Lou Stephens (SOLD OUT)
Resend recently purchased tickets to our events to your email.
Enter email to start search
You can review the event organiser's terms and conditions here.