Pompey Elliott

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Ross McMullin's masterly work retrieves a significant Australian from undeserved obscurity. It also judiciously reassesses notable battles he influenced - including the Gallipoli Landing, Lone Pine, Fromelles, Polygon Wood, and Villers-Brettoneux - and illuminates numerous aspects of Australia's experiences during his lifetime, particularly the often-overlooked period of the aftermath to the Great War. Pompey Elliott was a remarkable Australian. During the Great War he was a charismatic, controversial, and outstandingly successful military leader. An accomplished tactician and 'the bravest of the brave', he was renowned for never sending anyone anywhere he was not prepared to go himself. As a result, no Australian general was more revered by those he led or more famous outside his own command. A man of unimpeachable integrity and unwavering commitment, he was also forthright and volatile. His tempestuousness generated a host ofanecdotes that amused his men and disconcerted his superiors. Yet surprisingly little had been written about Elliott until the original edition of this book appeared in 2002. Now in a new format and with a foreword by Les Carlyon, this comprehensive, deeply researched biographytells Elliott'sfascinating story. It vividly examines Elliott's origins and youth, his peacetime careers as a lawyer and politician, and his achievements - as well as the controversies he aroused during his years as a soldier. Ross McMullin's masterly work retrieves a significant Australian from undeserved obscurity. It also judiciously reassesses notable battles he influenced - including the Gallipoli Landing, Lone Pine, Fromelles, Polygon Wood, and Villers-Brettoneux - and illuminates numerous aspects of Australia's experiences during his lifetime, particularly the often-overlooked period of the aftermath to the Great War. 'Australian who don't read this book are short-changing themselves.' Peter Ryan, The Australian 'A striking aspect of Ross McMullin's scrupulous biography is how little Elliott has been exaggerated by posterity . . . Pompey Elliott is a large book, and rightly.' Gideon Haigh, The Age 'May be the best Australian military biography yet to appear.' Stephen Loosley, Sunday Telegraph

Author Bio

Ross McMullin is an award-winning historian, biographer, and storyteller. Life So Full of Promise is his sequel to Farewell, Dear People- biographies of Australia's lost generation, which won national awards, including the Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History. His biographies include Pompey Elliott, which also won multiple awards, and Will Dyson- Australia's radical genius, and he assembled Elliott's extraordinary letters in Pompey Elliott at War- in his own words. His political histories comprise The Light on the Hill and So Monstrous a Travesty- Chris Watson and the world's first national labour government. During the 1970s he played first-grade district cricket in Melbourne.