Life So Full of Promise: further biographies of Australia's lost generation

(Paperback)

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Acclaimed historian and biographer Ross McMullin has again combined prodigious research and narrative flair in this sequel to Farewell, Dear People, the winner of multiple awards, including the Prime Minister's Prize for Australian History. Life So Full of Promise, his second multi-biography about Australia's lost generation of World War I, features a collection of interwoven stories set in that defining era. The rich cast includes a talented barrister whose outstanding leadership enabled a momentous victory in France; an eminent newspaper editor who kept his community informed about the war while his sons were in the trenches; an energetic soldiers' mother who became a political activist and a Red Cross dynamo; an admired farmer whose unit was rushed to the rescue in the climax of the conflict; the close sisters from Melbourne who found their lives transformed; a popular doctor who was more fervently mourned than any other Australian casualty; and a bohemian Scandinavian blonde who disrupted one of Sydney's best-known families. A feature of the book is its coverage of cricket and cricketers of the era. It reveals the untold story of a keen all-rounder who was chosen in an Australian team to tour England, but surprisingly did not go. There is also a superb biography of a brilliant yet practically unknown cricketer whose stunning feat has never been matched. Other prominent characters include the most versatile top-level sportsman Australia has ever known, and a Test prospect whose violent postwar death shocked the nation. The storytelling is superlative, illuminating and profoundly moving. Praise for Pompey Elliott at War- 'Ross McMullin's new book reveals the inner life of one of our most illustrious warriors ... McMullin shapes his selection of Elliott's correspondence, statements and speeches into a riveting narrative.' -Ross Fitzgerald, The Australian Praise for Pompey Elliott at War- 'Elliott is often observant, like his skilled biographer Ross McMullin ... Pompey received one slice of luck long after he was dead. He was found and brought back to life by an impressive historian.' -Geoffrey Blainey, Australian Book Review Praise for Pompey Elliott at War- 'This is a fascinating book ... Through all the horrors of war Pompey remains a sensitive soul ... We see him more as a cultured, educated man who happens to be a general.' -Troy Lennon, Daily Telegraph Praise for Farewell, Dear People- 'This is the work of a real historian who has gotten his hands dirty doing real work ... a powerful and valuable book.' Craig Stockings, Australian Historical Studies Praise for Farewell, Dear People- 'I can appreciate why it has made such an impact in Australia. It is original in conception, well-researched, beautifully written and illustrated - and altogether a very moving account of a piece of social history.' -Brian Bond, Professor of Military History at Kings College London

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.