Paradise Mislaid

Part history, part travelogue, all riveting story, Paradise Mislaid is historian Anne Whitehead’s award-winning account of her quest to discover the story of the 500 idealistic Australians who attempted to establish a socialist Utopia in the jungles of Paraguay at the end of the nineteenth century.


‘One of the most bizarre stories in Australian history - splendidly told by one of our master story-tellers.’ — Frank Moorhouse


‘An exhaustive yet entertaining piece of historical detective work which is at once authoritative, scholarly and delightfully chatty... due to Whitehead’s own indefatigable physical adventures, it’s also a travel adventure to rival Bruce Chatwin’s wanderings.’ — The Leader


‘A superb blend of travel writing and history, during which Whitehead casts her discerning eye on the present, with pertinent excursions to the past. This personal odyssey has resulted in a wonderful, rambunctious, passionate, picaresque narrative that combines meticulous research with compelling personal stories and acute observation. One is swept irresistibly along.’ — Tim Bowden, Sydney Morning Herald


First published in 1997, Paradise Mislaid won the New South Wales Premier’s History Award in 1998 and was also shortlisted for the Nita Kibble Literary Award that same year. Anne Whitehead’s companion volume, Bluestocking in Patagonia, is also part of the Untapped Collection.