Gretchen Friemann

Biography

Gretchen Friemann is an author and award-winning journalist. She holds a Masters in International History from Trinity College Dublin, and her first book, The Treaty, is a narrative history of the 1921 Anglo Irish negotiations that brought about Ireland’s independence and led to the civil war.

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She began her journalism career writing for Film Ireland magazine in Dublin and has written for a number of leading newspapers, including the Irish Times and The Sunday Times. She was a senior business correspondent at the Irish Independent, Mergers & Acquisitions Editor at The Australian, and a Street Talk editor at the Australian Financial Review in Sydney.

The Irish Times described The Treaty as ‘top-class’, while The Guardian said that ‘Friemann weaves a complex narrative, deftly jumping back and forward in time to set the scene or to fill in the picture’. The Irish Independent said that ‘Friemann…has produced an impressive yet readable account of this historic event, interweaving the complex issues of the political negotiations with a lively eye for the human touch.’

Friemann was born in London to Australian parents and spent most of her childhood in Melbourne. She lives in Dublin with her two children and a dog.

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Books

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A Burning Sea

Articles

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Unionism & The Treaty

Unionism & The Treaty

Unionism & The TreatyThe Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921 led to civil war in Ireland as those for and against descended into bitter conflict. But what of Northern Ireland, established in May 1921? There were plans to include Ulster politicians in an all-Ireland parliament in early ...

Book Reviews

The Treaty, by Gretchen Friemann

The Treaty, by Gretchen Friemann

Just over a century from the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, Gretchen Friemann has provided an explosive account of the detailed events leading up to and during the renowned agreement. The Treaty is a much-needed analysis of the complexity of the Irish and British negotiations in ...

Lady Caroline Lamb, by Antonia Fraser

Lady Caroline Lamb, by Antonia Fraser

History has not been kind to Caroline Lamb. The writer and lover of Lord Byron, who characterised him as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’, has generally been dismissed by his biographers, and those of her husband, William Lamb, the future Lord Melbourne, as an ‘unhinged’ exhibitionist with ...

Interviews

Gretchen Friemann on The Treaty

Gretchen Friemann on The Treaty

Gretchen Friemann, your recent book, The Treaty, dealt with the negotiations for the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty. As an Australian though living in Dublin, why did you want to write about them?The idea for the book came from a chance encounter in an archive.A few years ago, when I was ...

Antonia Fraser on Lady Caroline Lamb: A Free Spirit

Antonia Fraser on Lady Caroline Lamb: A Free Spirit

Even as she approaches her 91st birthday, with her mobility impaired and her hearing no longer perfect, Antonia Fraser, acclaimed historian and author, is contemplating what to write next. This may come as a surprise to readers of her latest book, a biography of one of Lord Byron’s most famous ...