The trials of Portnoy : how Penguin brought down Australia's censorship system
Mullins, Patrick, 1988-2020
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For more than 70 years, a succession of politicians, judges, and government officials in Australia worked in the shadows to enforce one of the most pervasive and conservative regimes of censorship in the world. The goal was simple: to keep Australia free of the moral contamination of impure literature. In 1970, in great secrecy and at considerable risk, Penguin Books Australia resolved to publish 'Portnoy's Complaint' - Philip Roth's bestseller about a boy hung up about his mother and his penis. In doing so, Penguin spurred a direct confrontation with the censorship authorities, which culminated in criminal charges, police raids, and an unprecedented series of court trials across the country. This book draws on archival records and new interviews to show how Penguin and a band of writers, booksellers, academics, and lawyers determinedly sought for Australians the freedom to read what they wished.
Main title:
Author:
Mullins, Patrick, 1988-, author
Imprint:
London : Scribe UK, 2020.
Collation:
336 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm
ISBN:
9781913348175 (pbk)
Dewey class:
098.10994
LC class:
Z1019
Language:
English
Subject:
BRN:
2748968