Adrienne and Catherine reflect on the luck and chance that brought their partnership to life. This includes the historical research Adrienne pursued across France and Tasmania, and the thirteen-year journey of writing that shaped the book. Catherine shares how her family’s ties to the French Revolution make the eighteenth century feel more real, and how she connected deeply with the narrative threads and the poetic voice at the heart of the collection.

About Marie & Marie

Marie & Marie (Éditions tituli, 2025) centres on the intertwined stories of two extraordinary women, Marie‑Antoinette, the last Queen of France, and her contemporary Marie‑Louise Girardin, the daughter of a gardener at the Potager du Roi.  

During the French Revolution, Marie‑Louise disguised herself as a man and spent three years at sea on d’Entrecasteaux’s expedition through the Pacific and southern Tasmanian waters. While Marie‑Antoinette and her family faced the wildness at the heart of Paris, Marie‑Louise travelled to the wilds at the ends of the earth on a ship of both royalists and republicans, held together by d’Entrecasteaux’s remarkable leadership. She never returned to France, dying of dysentery at sea a year after Marie‑Antoinette’s execution.  

Through an imagined correspondence, the poems explore their experiences of girlhood, sisterhood, motherhood, loss, widowhood, love, nature, patriarchy and politics. 

About Adrienne Eberhard

Adrienne Eberhard’s poetry focuses on history, love, nature, and the fundamental connections we forge with place. She has published six collections, most recently Marie & Marie, a bilingual edition, translated by Catherine de Saint Phalle and published in Paris by Editions tituli in 2025. Her first collection, Agamemnon’s Poppies (Black Pepper, 2003) was awarded second place in the Anne Elder Prize and longlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Award. 

Adrienne Eberhard

Subsequent collections were shortlisted for the Tasmania Book Prize and longlisted for the Tasmanian Literary Awards. Adrienne has read and presented in Australia, France and New Zealand. Her poems are widely anthologized, and she has collaborated with artists, scientists and musicians, resulting in performances, libretto for ensembles, and an artist’s book. Adrienne was the poetry editor at Island magazine from 2008 to 2011. She has taught poetry at university and runs workshops for writers, teachers and children, most recently at the American Library in Paris. 

About Catherine de Saint Phalle

Catherine de Saint Phalle lives in Brunswick with her dog, Mary. She has had four books published in Paris by Actes Sud, one by Buchet-Chastel and one by Sabine Wespieser Editeur. She also had two radio plays broadcast on French National Radio, France Culture, one from her translation of On the Road and one about Carson McCullers. Barry Scott of Transit Lounge has published four more of her books with one shortlisted for the Stella Prize. 

Catherine de Saint Phalle 

Catherine's fifth work published by Transit Lounge, The Hurt releases in August 2026. Her literary translations have been published by Le Seuil, Actes Sud and Affirm Press. Translation work for her is like a second skin, keeping her two mother tongues together.