Listen, I told myself, and heard the waves against the harbour-wall, a gull being peevish, the white tapping stick of a blind man against the stones. Listen, I told myself, this is history.

Loosely inspired by the legendary Sydney bohemian Bea Miles, Kate Grenville’s much-loved debut novel recounts the life of the irrepressible Lilian Una Singer: from wealthy middle-class girlhood under the rule of a monstrous father, to outspoken independence in adulthood, and eventually sleeping rough on the city’s streets in later years, her spirit undaunted. Bold, exuberant and richly imaginative, Lilian’s Story was acclaimed as a masterpiece on its publication in 1985. It is unforgettable.