Miss Haversham is an enduring figure of English literature from Charles Dickens’ memorable novel, Great Expectations. But did you know that the woman who may have inspired Dickens’ creation was a real person who lived in colonial Australia?
Lost Expectations is a retelling, based on historical research, of the untold true story of Eliza Emily Donnithorne (1827 – 1886) of Newtown in Sydney. She was the daughter of a wealthy and privileged family, who was jilted by her groom on her wedding day and lived in self-imposed exile in a locked and shuttered mansion in colonial Sydney. She is buried at St Stephen’s church in Newtown.
Though heartbreaking, Eliza’s unlikely and tragic fate was to inspire Dickens.