'By a Lady: Revealing Women's Stories' exhibition now open
Women have always been pioneers of storytelling, ideation and knowledge-sharing – whether quietly working by candlelight or boldly demonstrating in public, crafting with delicate artistry or words ablaze.
Despite substance and brilliance, many attempts have been made throughout history to suppress or diminish the work of women – ‘women’s work’ is associated with unpaid or lowly-perceived tasks, such as housekeeping and childcare, and ‘matriarchal crafts’ such as textiles and ceramics are considered inferior and separate to the ‘fine arts’.
The act of female authorship and creation has been one of resistance and survival. Through their works, women have preserved culture, protected their knowledge, and fought back against movements that have sought to silence them, including patriarchal systems, colonisation and homophobia.
This exhibition tells a story of creativity, activism, protest and misrepresentation of women over centuries, through over 150 collection items including posters, novels, photographs, theses, manuscripts, newletters, student publications, zines, objects and ephemera.
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By a Lady: Revealing Women’s Stories from Rare Books and Special Collections
Fisher Library, level 2 Exhibition Space
University of Sydney
Camperdown
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Exhibition opening hours: weekdays (during semester): 9am-8pm; weekdays (out of semester): 9am-5pm; weekends: 10am-2pm
Exhibition on display: 30 July 2026 – June 2027
By a Lady
This exhibition’s title references the 18th–19th century practice of not crediting female authors by name, as this was considered improper or risky. At the time, authorship was often under a male pen name or, if there was any reference to a female author at all, she was credited as simply ‘by a lady’.
The most famous example of this is Jane Austen’s first novel Sense and Sensibility (1811), a first edition of which is in the Library’s collection (Triple-decker A933 J2 1).
In contrast to the reductive flattening of credit by this statement, this exhibition reveals the complex stories of exceptional women, demonstrating the depth and strength of female-created works.
Content Notice
Please note that this exhibition contains complex stories, some of which speak to experiences of sexism, violence, racism and homophobia. Some items include outdated and misinterpreted language. We present these materials for educational and historical purposes, and we encourage visitors to engage critically with the content.
Cultural Care Notice
This exhibition was created and hosted on Gadigal Country. It contains representations and discussions of Aboriginal peoples, cultures, histories and stories through both an Indigenous and non-Indigenous lens, some difficult and some celebratory. Audiences are advised that there are references to the names and images of First Nations people who have died. The Library is committed to prioritising the voices, perspectives and authorship of First Nations peoples in our collections and exhibitions.
Exhibition team
Exhibition lead Vanessa Low
Cultural Collections Curation team
Anne Goodfellow, Julie Sommerfeldt, Kim Williams, Marthe Follestad, Pippa Herden, Zenan Zhao
Design Maria Pia Mosquera
Editor Rebecca Lay
With thanks to Nick Boerma (SCA Print Lab), Luke Parker (Chau Chak Wing Museum), Stykris, and University of Sydney Archives
By a Lady exhibition opening event, photos by Sarah Lorien
About Rare Books and Special Collections
The University of Sydney Library holds one of Australia’s largest rare and special collections, with over 300,000 items. Highlights include medieval manuscripts and early printed books, as well as an extensive science fiction collection and East Asian collection.
Our wide range of Rare Books and Special Collections are available for academics and students to view, research and teach with. Find out more about teaching with the collections or email:
cultural.collections@usyd.libanswers.com.
We also welcome the public to view and study our collections. You will need to register for a free Rare Books ID and visit during our Rare Books and Special Collections Reading Room opening hours. Find out more about viewing items from special collections.
If you are unable to visit our collections in-person, you can also book a Virtual Reading Room session, or explore thousands of digitised photos, illustrations, documents, magazines and more on our Digital Collections website and our Google Arts & Culture page.
Contact
For enquiries about Rare Books and Special Collections, please get in touch with the Cultural Collections team via email
cultural.collections@usyd.libanswers.com.