The Prime Minister’s Potato review
Updated: Apr 9
Friends Review, Australian Federation of Friends of Museums (AFFM)
December 2025
Abstract
This review examines Anne-Marie Condé’s The Prime Minister’s Potato and Other Essays, highlighting her distinctive approach to uncovering overlooked lives through archives and material culture. Drawing on her long career in Australian museums, Condé brings a “miniaturist” sensibility to her work, focusing on small, fragmentary stories that reveal broader historical and social patterns.
The review explores the range of essays presented in the collection, from wartime commemoration and local memory to reflections on both ordinary individuals and well-known figures. It considers how Condé uncovers unexpected connections and hidden narratives, and reflects on her ability to move between intimacy and distance, combining careful research with imaginative interpretation.
Overall, the review highlights the book’s contribution to understanding how archives and museums can illuminate everyday experiences and enrich interpretations of Australia’s past.