Gerald Glaskin (1923-2000) pushed the boundaries of acceptability in what he wrote and how he wrote it. His twenty major publications - novels, short stories, travelogues, memoirs, plays and more - tackled such taboo subjects as homosexuality, incest and parapsychology.
In the aftermath of the Second World War Glaskin challenged white Australians to re-examine their attitudes to Asian and Aboriginal people, and his 1965 novel No End to the Way - initially banned in his home country - was groundbreaking in its frank and honest portrayal of a homosexual relationship.
Outside Australia, Glaskin’s books were translated into multiple languages and garnered praise from critics and readers alike. He was hailed as ‘the ace of Australian story tellers’. Yet in his home country he was, and remains, a virtual nonentity. Why did Australia turn its back on him? Was it his delight in provoking people? Was it his audacious, belligerent and at times overbearing manner? Was he a victim of his country’s ‘tall poppy syndrome’, or of a provincial publishing industry?
This insightful biography probes the life and work of one of Australia’s most neglected writers and in so doing gives Glaskin his proper due.