Eleanor Limprecht

“I like the urban, contemporary sensibility of UTS — it is a vibrant place. I have seen it change in recent years and become a more inclusive campus. There always seems to be something interesting happening.”

Eleanor Limprecht is enrolled in the Doctorate of Creative Arts in Writing. She is in the process of completing her second novel, a work of historical fiction inspired by the story of a woman who was charged with manslaughter in 1909 and convicted to serve three years at the Long Bay Women’s Reformatory.

“I’m writing a historical novel based on real prison and court documents about a woman who was conducting an illegal abortion when her patient died,” Eleanor says.

“There is still a great deal of silence about women’s sexuality and the control of their fertility — not many people realise how common it was for women to take these matters into their own hands, even in the early 1900s.”

The book is Eleanor’s second novel. She commenced the work after completing a Masters of Creative Writing in 2007, which helped her to see the role of universities in creative pursuits.

“I realised that by doing a Doctor of Creative Arts I could access the experience of a supervisor and the research facilities in order to strengthen my work,” she says.

Eleanor is currently working with two supervisors — Dr Paula Hamilton, a historian, and Dr Debra Adelaide, a novelist — who provide her with valuable insights into the creative process. She says that UTS has come into its own as a research institute in recent years and that students with an interest in the arts would do well to find themselves within the university’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.