Our Price: AUD$25.95 (USD$)* ISBN: 978-1-920764-88-3 Subject: General Fiction Publication Date: April 2007

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Synopsis
RÓISIN (Rose) although fictional, was inspired by actual events.

It is the story of an ordinary Australian-born woman of Irish descent with a unique character, who showed others by her positive determination and entrepreneurial flair, how to live their dream and become extraordinary.

It is a spirited woman’s adventure that begins in the era of the Great Depression, through to the torment of WWII, and into the postwar, economic boom years.

During decades of daring, her quest was often challenged by the established norms of the day, when society measured success or failure by the gender of an individual.

About The Author
Robert Bartlett was born and schooled in Sydney, Australia. His first full time job was in the sales industry. He was in the military and served with the Royal Australian Air Force, with a tour of duty in Vietnam.

After leaving the service, he was employed in senior management positions with a number of multi-nationals in the areas of Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing and Administration. He has also undertaken various tertiary studies in Chemistry, Biology, Law, Accounting, Marketing and Management.

Over the years he’s written various articles, including a regular monthly column for a community newspaper. A couple of years ago, he began writing a book in his spare time. Tiring of the corporate life, he resigned into semi-retirement and concentrated full time on completing his story of Róisin.

Vist the author's official Web Site.

From The Book
In the early 1930s, the Government of the day didn’t record the income of the stay-at-home women who did part-time dressmaking from their homes. This informal economy was made up of women, many with small children, who, through financial necessity, had found a way to bring in a little extra money for the family. Many of them used various skills passed on from their mothers to do dressmaking, cooking or millinery, to earn up to about 204 Pounds per year, and/or as little as 54 Pounds. In most cases no tax was ever paid. The government sometimes referred to these workplaces as home factories, even though there may only be one or two people involved. The money was not that bad considering that the female basic wage was only 101 Pounds per year.

Late one afternoon, Rose was serving one of the last customers for the day, a rather pretty woman with two young children. The woman mentioned that she would like to be able to make up some clothes for her family but didn’t have a sewing machine. She was getting desperate, as the kids frequently had to wear dirty clothes. Rose asked her if she had asked any of the other mothers if they would sew up something for her.

She shrugged and did not answer.

Rose asked if she was too shy to talk to them.

'No,' she replied, 'I feel a little embarrassed and ashamed to ask anyone.'

'Maybe I could make up a couple of things for the kids on the sewing machine out in the back storeroom. If you could afford to give me sixpence for material, I’ll try to make up a couple of girls house dresses for you,' Rose offered.

The woman glowed, as she said, 'that would be wonderful if you could.'

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