The Killing of Louisa

Queensland Literary Award Winner

To lose one husband may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like murder.

In New South Wales in1888, Louisa Collins was sentenced to hang after being tried multiple times for the alleged murders of her two husbands. The testimony of her young daughter helped to decide her fate.

This clever and compelling novel recreates Louisa's time in her Darlinghurst prison cell as she reflects on her life and on the grief and loss that delivered her to this place. Despite difficult marriages, financial hardship and the deaths of several children, she remains resilient and determined to have her own identity.

But as she faces her final days, will Louisa confess to her crimes? Or is an innocent woman about to be hanged?

“A superb debut” Melissa Ashley, author of The Birdman's Wife