Henry Handel Richardson is a literary icon. But few know that she studied piano and composition in Leipzig and produced a treasure trove of songs between the two world wars. Pianist Tonya Lemoh and soprano and lecturer Narelle Yeo trace Richardson’s passion for music and explain how they decided to make the first commercial recording of her songs.

Henry Handel Richardson
Henry Handel Richardson by Howard Coster © National Portrait Gallery, London

Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson – better known by her pen name Henry Handel Richardson – is one of Australia’s foremost literary figures, famous for novels such as The Getting of Wisdom, The Fortunes of Richard Mahony and Ultima Thule, for which she won the 1929 Australian Literature Society Gold Medal. She also wrote short stories, translations and a memoir. 

Her...