‘Writers, their friends, enemies, editors, and publishers began to materialise out of the library’s archive boxes, and I found myself setting off in search of these elusive, eccentric, and often quarrelsome characters.’
With his unique and entertaining blend of memoir, biography, and literary detective work, Craig Munro recreates the lives and careers of a group of renowned Australian editors and their authors in a narrative spanning from the 1890s to the 1990s.
Among those encountered on the journey are A.G. Stephens, who helped turn foundry worker Joseph Furphy’s thousand-page handwritten manuscript into the enduring classic Such Is Life; P.R. Stephensen, who tangled with an irascible Xavier Herbert to tame his unwieldy masterpiece Capricornia; Beatrice Davis, whose literary soirees were the talk of Sydney, and who insisted Herbert cut his controversial novel Soldiers’ Women in half; and award-winning fiction editor Rosanne Fitzgibbon, who championed the work of many authors, including the prodigiously talented Gillian Mears.
Throughout it all, in beguiling and elegant style, Craig Munro weaves his own reminiscences of a life in publishing while tracking down some of Australian literature’s most fascinating stories. Literary Lion Tamers is a delight for anyone interested in the world of books and those who create them.
‘Here are the unsung minds of our remarkable book culture.’
Frank Moorhouse
‘Patrick White once lamented the impression that Australian literature was the dreary, dun-coloured offspring of journalistic realism. In this entertaining and delightful book, Craig Munro shows that Australian literature is bursting with colour and energy. He traces a rich literary history that is quirky, brave, petty, and grand. Through his circus tread lions, clowns, and elephants: writers wielding tatty but brilliant manuscripts, patient editors with blue pencils and eyes for the eccentric, and ragtag publishers with outsized ambitions. This is a charming, well-written, and exciting tale about the stories that are with us still.’
Patrick Mullins, author of The Trials of Portnoy
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Praise for Under Cover:
‘A clear-eyed, engaging memoir offering a unique perspective on the passionate and occasionally unhinged world of Australian literature.’
Jacqueline Kent, editor, and author of A Certain Style: Beatrice Davis — a literary life
Praise for Under Cover:
‘If you’ve always thought that editors lead quiet lives involving nothing more exciting than neatly pencilling corrections on a page, this entertaining and fascinating book will show you how varied and exhilarating the life of an editor can be.’
Good Reading
Praise for Under Cover:
‘Reading Under Cover feels like eavesdropping on some of the most fascinating conversations in the history of Australian publishing — how lucky for Craig Munro to have lived it, and how lucky for us that he's chosen to share it.’
Fiona McFarlane, author of The Night Guest
