The Enigmatic Mr Deakin

Author: Judith Brett

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $49.99 AUD
  • : 9781925498660
  • : Text Publishing Co
  • : The Text Publishing Company
  • :
  • :
  • : June 2017
  • : 234mm X 153mm
  • : Australia
  • : August 2017
  • :
  • :
  • : books

Special Fields

  • :
  • :
  • : Judith Brett
  • : Hardback
  • : 817
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • : 512
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
Barcode 9781925498660
9781925498660

Description

This insightful and accessible new biography of Alfred Deakin, Australia's second prime minister, shines fresh light on one of the nation's most significant figures. It brings out from behind the image of a worthy, bearded father of federation the gifted, passionate and intriguing man whose contributions continue to shape the contours of Australian politics. The acclaimed political scientist Judith Brett scrutinises both Deakin's public life and his inner life. Deakin's private papers reveal a solitary, religious character who found distasteful much of the business of politics, with its unabashed self-interest, double-dealing, and mediocre intellectual levels. And yet politics is where Deakin chose to do his life's work. Destined to become a classic of biography, The Enigmatic Mr Deakin is a masterly portrait of a complex man who was instrumental in creating modern Australia.

Promotion info

* Widespread review coverage in major broadsheet and tabloid newspapers such as the Sydney Morning Herald, Canberra Times, Adelaide Advertiser, Otago Daily Times and the Saturday Paper * Author interviews and Op-Eds in major newspapers such as the Australian and the Age * Author interviews on TV programs such as ABC News Breakfast and Q&A * Profiles and reviews in publications such as the Conversation, the Monthly, Australian Financial Review, North & South and NZ Listener * Review coverage in literary journals such as ABR and Sydney Review of Books, and various historical and scholarly journals * Author interviews on local and national radio programs in Australia and NZ * The author will be a guest at the Melbourne Writers Festival * Big Melbourne launch with a figure such as John Howard as potential launcher * Joined initiatives to be planned alongside Deakin University * Chapter sample to be available to the trade and at major bookseller conferences * Targeted online advertising on news and current affair websites such as Fairfax and News Limited publications * Father's Day focused advertisements in literary and current affairs publications such as ABR, Monthly, Big Issue and on their associated websites * Major social media campaign including dedicated posts and advertising on Facebook and Instagram * Significant budget available for Father's Day bookseller gift guides and catalogues

Reviews

'This excellent biography will appeal to general readers, students and anyone interested in historical biography.' * Books + Publishing * `A fresh, revealing and insightful portrait of one of the great figures who shaped Australia.' -- Paul Kelly `Judith Brett has resurrected a gallant democrat just when democracy seems most in need of redemption. This is a deeply engrossing portrait of a hero for our times, a complex, charismatic man with a unique capacity to build, to lead, to speak and to dream. Masterful, tender and utterly compelling.' -- Clare Wright `A biography of immense power that will restore Deakin to his proper place in the national imagination: the mystic politician who gave us Australia.' -- David Marr

Author description

Judith Brett is the award-winning author of Robert Menzies' Forgotten People, emeritus professor of politics at La Trobe University and one of Australia's leading political thinkers. She contributes regularly to the Monthly and has written three Quarterly Essays.