My life in Two Hemispheres. London: Fisher, 1898. First Edition. Two Volumes. Pp (I) xi, 335; (ii) xi, 395 + adverts, pages uncut. Frontispiece portraits of the author to each volume. Original red cloth, title in gilt on upper covers & spines. Light shelf-wear & patchy fading to boards, contents in fine bright condition.

A sweeping autobiographical account that chronicles Gavan Duffy’s dual legacy as a nationalist leader in Ireland and a statesman in Australia. It offers first-hand insight into 19th-century political movements, colonial governance, and the personal convictions of a man who shaped two nations.

Charles Gavan Duffy (1816-1903) was a leading figure in Irish politics between 1842 and 1855, taking part in the repeal of the union with Britain (1840’s) and the Tenant League (1850’s); who later became an Australian political leader. He served as prime minister of Victoria (1871–72), was knighted in 1873, and was speaker of the Victoria House of Assembly from 1877 to 1880. He thereafter retired to southern France to write his memoirs, which form a principal source for the history of Ireland in the period.