Anne Henderson

Anne Elizabeth Henderson AM (née Keppel; born 1949) is an Australian writer, Deputy Director of The Sydney Institute, editor of The Sydney Papers and co-editor of The Sydney Institute Quarterly.

She was born in Melbourne and now lives in Sydney. She was educated at Melbourne University. Between 1971 and 1989 she worked as a teacher for seventeen years in several Australian states. She is married to Gerard Henderson, the Executive Director of the Institute.[1]

Anne Henderson is the author of Getting Even: Women MPs on Life, Power and Politics ,[2] From All Corners: Six Migrant Stories,[1] Educating Johannah: A Year in Year 12,[3] and Mary MacKillop's Sisters: A Life Unveiled.,[1] Angel in the Court: The Life of Major Joyce Harmer, a biography of Major Joyce Harmer, Salvation Army major, social worker, court chaplain and advocate;[2] and The Killing of Sister McCormack, a biographical work which covers the execution of Sister Irene McCormack.[1]

Among her essays of note are "Dad’s Wake" in Fathers: In Writing (Tuart Press, 1997) and the biographical chapter on Prime Minister Joe Lyons for Australian Prime Ministers edited by Michelle Grattan (New Holland 2000) and the UK's New Dictionary of National Biography (OUP). She was a contributing editor with Ross Fitzgerald of Partners (HarperCollins, 1999).

In 2008 Anne Henderson published a biography of Dame Enid Lyons, titled Dame Enid Lyons: Leading Lady to a Nation was published [2] and in 2011 her biography of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons – Joseph Lyons: The People’s Prime Minister (NewSouth Press) was launched by former Prime Minister John Howard.

In 2014 Anne Henderson published Menzies at War (NewSouth Press) which was shortlisted in the Prime Minister's Literary Award for History in 2015.

She also writes occasionally for The Australian, The Canberra Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the Australian Book Review, and the Australian's Review of Books.[4]

At the 2015 Australia Day Honours, Henderson was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to literature in the field of political history, and to the community by fostering public debate and discussion.[5]