Robert Wainwright Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Robert Wainwright is an Australian journalist and author. He is based out of London and has over thirty years of experience working in national daily newspapers.

Over the years, he has won a variety of journalism awards. He has also been a three time finalist for the Walkley Awards, the most prestigious prize for journalism in Australia.

Robert grew his career out as an author from journalism. Now he has flourished within the community, having written over a dozen nonfiction books, featuring topics of mystery and crime as well as social histories and biographies. Some of his books were international best sellers, such as his 2014 biography about Sheila, an Australian ingenue who ended up taking British society by storm. In addition, a few of his books have ended up being finalists for prominent literary awards in England and Australia.

His book Maverick Mountaineer featured a look at the life of George Ingle-Finch, a pioneer climber and scientist. It received the Times Biography of the Year from the British Sports Book Awards. Wainwright has also had the honor of ghost-writing the autobiographies for many different athletes, such as Ian Thorpe (an Olympic swimmer) and Justin Langer (a Test cricketer and Australian coach).

Some of Robert Wainwright’s projects have even been optioned to be adapted into media works. The Killing of Caroline Byrne was adapted into a television movie that did quite well. His book Rose: The Unauthorized Biography of Rose Hancock-Porteous was adapted into a musical. His books Sheila and Enid are also being made into feature films.

The author is married to his wife, Paola Totaro, a journalist. They reside together in Camberwell.

Sheila: The Australian Beauty Who Bewitched British Society is a 2014 biography written by Robert Wainwright. If you have an interest in this individual, love non-fiction, or simply want to find out more about this historical figure, check this book out and see what you think of it!

When Sheila Chisholm was a child, she had a very interesting life. She would not only chase around kangaroos while riding horseback, she also swam with the sharks at the famed Bondi Beach. When she was a young woman, she also had her share of adventures. She nursed soldiers who had been injured at Gallipoli back to health. She got married to an English lord, transformed into a darling of London society, and even had an affair with the man who was intended to become King of England one day.

By the time she had reached thirty years of age, she had also managed to capture the hearts and minds of America. From Hollywood to Florida to New York’s high society, everyone was taken by her grace and charm. She was courted by many, from Rudolph Valentino to Vincent Astor.

Sheila also became a confidante and close friend of Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress. She also became a good friend to the Vanderbilts, the Kennedys, and Elsie Maxwell, a society heiress. Sheila additionally made friends who were in show business, becoming pals with Charlie Chaplin, Sophie Tucker, Douglas Fairbanks, and Fred and Adele Astaire.

So just who was this incredible woman who was welcomed warmly into the clubs of the elite as well as their mansions and palaces? Turn the pages of this biography in your endeavor to find out and you will surely not be disappointed. Find out everything there was to know about Sheila by getting a copy of this book that has been praised as ‘essential reading’!

Nell, the Duchess of Manchester is a 2025 biography written by Robert Wainwright. This is the unique and largely forgotten story about the first and only duchess of Australia from the same author who brought readers other riveting bestselling biographies. If you love nonfiction or have an interest in engaging personalities from the past, this is the book for you.

A young unassuming woman from Melbourne ends up meeting a handsome naval lieutenant in a swimming pool at a Colombo hotel in 1926, but at that point she never saw what her future held. Nell could never have imagined that one day in the future she would be married to an English duke who had not one, not two, but three castles.

Nell Stead was feisty but also demure, and from the day that she met Alexander Drogo Montagu (son of the ninth Duke of Manchester who went by the nickname ‘Mandy’), she fell in love. Alexander also fell in love with her that day. Within months, the two were married in a whirlwind union that took English society by surprise.

They may have been an unlikely couple, but together they were a dynamic duo. The couple worked diligently to try and rescue the fortunes of the family, which had been impeded by taxes and financial mismanagement.

Living in a world that is full of contrast, the two take on the excesses and strange habits of relatives, all while enduring the threat of war, to attempt to bring a dying estate back to life. This extends to a castle where Catherine of Aragon lived out her final days on Earth. A page turner that you won’t want to put down, this is the fascinating and entirely true story of the only Australian woman to ever join up with the British aristocracy as a duchess.

An incredible ride and recounting of a life lived in places such as America, England and Kenya, this is also the story of the attempt to try and restore and shore up the House of Montagu and track its progress as it begins to crumble throughout the course of four generations. Will Nell and Alexander be successful in their attempts to restore the house to its former glory? What adventures will Nell get up to? Find out all of this and more by getting your hands on a copy of this fascinating biography that you won’t want to miss!