Fifty years after the event, here is the first full account of an audacious publishing decision that — with the help of booksellers and readers around the country — forced the end of literary censorship in Australia.
For more than seventy 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. Under the censorship regime, books that might damage the morals of the Australian public were banned, seized, and burned; bookstores were raided; publishers were fined; and writers were charged and even jailed. But in the 1970s, that all changed.
In 1970, in great secrecy and at considerable risk, Penguin Books Australia resolved to publish Portnoy’s Complaint— Philip Roth’s frank, funny, and profane 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.
Sweeping from the cabinet room to the courtroom, The Trials of Portnoy 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 — and how, in defeating the forces arrayed before them, they reshaped Australian literature and culture forever.
‘The finely detailed story of the legal fight in Australia against the censorship of Philip Roth’s Portnoy’s Complaint.’
Sean O’Beirne, The Monthly
‘Mullins’s compelling account of these last days of the old censorship regime skilfully draws on a rich range of sources, including interviews with many of the key figures involved. He gives an insight not just into how the system operated and the politics involved, but also into a significant cultural moment in Australia.’
Amanda Laugesen, Inside Story
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‘Mullins has applied his skills in thorough research, forensic examination of evidence and a light wit to the numerous trials in different States which, in 1970-71, determined whether sales of Portnoy’s Complaint should be permitted in Australia.’
Mark Thomas, The Canberra Times
‘[A] literary detective story with a difference.’
Craig Munro, The Australian
‘The Trials of Portnoy, tells the true story of how Portnoy’s Complaint was declared illegal throughout the Commonwealth, and how, eventually, it became a book we were allowed to own and read … The real treat of The Trials of Portnoy though, is to see how many people were willing to stand up in court and make the always difficult argument for literature.’
Sean O’Beirne, The Monthly
‘The Trials of Portnoy is full of the juice and drama and hilarity of the courtroom … Patrick Mullins has written an utterly diverting account of a bit of ancient Australian literary history … superb.’
Peter Craven, The Saturday Paper
‘An illuminating tale about book censorship in Australia … Publishers and bookstores are the heroes in this … entertaining account of a ‘hard-won’ battle.’
Kirkus Reviews
‘[A] wonderful account of how a group of brave publishers, booksellers and academics brought down Australia’s ridiculous censorship regime.’
Barry Reynolds, Herald Sun
‘With The Trials of Portnoy, Mullins has further established himself as a first-rate historical storyteller and considerably strengthened our understanding of the history of censorship in Australia.’
Nathan Hollier, Australian Historical Studies
‘Patrick Mullins’ latest effort provides the most detailed account yet of this embarrassing moment in our inglorious history.’
Chris Dite, Readings
‘Mullins draws on his skills as an academic and writer to give an extraordinary rundown on these trials … [The Trials of Portnoy] could well become the ultimate academic guide to the changes to censorship in Australia.’
Fiona Myers, The Weekly Times
‘Patrick Mullins gives us a useful litany of the blow by blow progress of those cases that came to court.’
Sue Rabbitt Roff, Pearls and Irritations
Praise for Tiberius with a Telephone
‘This is the most detailed investigation and explanation of what happened … Completing a biography of this scope is an enormous undertaking, and Patrick Mullins does it with considerable skill … Mullins conveys the turmoil, the atmosphere of crisis, the bickering and the bloodletting that marked this extraordinary period of Australian political history.’
David Solomon, Inside Story
Praise for Tiberius with a Telephone
‘This is, as others have remarked, biography at its best: diligently researched, with detail nowhere else examined, and a demonstration of fine judgement concerning the crucial interplay between personal disposition, role demands, and historical context.’
James Walter, Australian Book Review
Praise for Tiberius with a Telephone
‘A welcome addition to prime ministerial biography … An engaging and informative read.’
Troy Bramston, The Australian
