‘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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‘[S]hines a spotlight on the work of some very different Australian book editors … Literary Lion Tamers is an entertaining story that picks up on dozens of additional dramatis personae on its way through the careers of these editors … [Munro’s] personal connection to the stories of his “lion tamers”, and sometimes to their authors as well, brings the book closer to the mode of memoir than to history-writing. It’s a most engaging read, bound to send you back to the biographies of these editors, as well as to the massive Australian novels and other works they brought to print.’
Susan Sheridan, Australian Book Review
‘Literary Lion Tamers takes readers on a whistle stop tour of Australia’s literary history … Munro channels memoir, biography, and a good dose of literary detective work into a book that is interesting and entertaining in equal measure … Bound together by Munro’s own recollections – whether as editor, publisher, or researcher – and cut through with a gentle sense of humour, Literary Lion Tamers is an accessible and entertaining exploration of the world behind-the-scenes of Australian literature.’
Jodie Sloan, The AU Review
‘In this mix of memoir, biography and historiography, Craig Munro has used his journalistic and editorial background, forensic archival skills and interviews with primary and secondary sources to bring to life the work of some of the country’s greatest editors … For anyone with the slightest interest in Australian literature, this book gives a wonderfully insightful glimpse behind the curtains of our publishing industry.’ FOUR STARS
Bob Moore, Better Reading
‘Literary Lion Tamers is an impressive historical record … This is definitely a book that suits writing and publishing students and professionals. Members of the general public similarly curious about the ins-and-outs of the book world will find topics of interest here too.’
Clare Millar, Readings
‘Literary Lion Tamers… takes the theme of going behind the scenes in publishing. It is a cavalcade of colourful literary characters.’
Phil Brown, The Courier Mail
‘Craig Munro’s extensively researched book offers incredible insight into the lives and travails of some of Australia’s earliest editors and some more latterly ones … Munro has duly honoured some great Australian editors with this book.’
Genevieve Barlow, The Weekly Times
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
‘Craig Munro’s lively account, Literary Lion Tamers, is full of eccentric characters, entrepreneurial derring-do, financial ruin, creative brilliance, emotional breakdown, obsession, intrigue, imprisonment and untimely death … Munro also had a long career in book publishing, as inaugural fiction editor and publishing manager at the University of Queensland Press, and has since become an elegant writer and chronicler of the industry.’
Susan Wyndham, Sydney Morning Herald
