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‘When I am famous’

A masterpiece of biographical synthesis
by
April 2024, no. 463

Frank Moorhouse: Strange paths by Matthew Lamb

Knopf, $45 hb, 480 pp

‘When I am famous’

A masterpiece of biographical synthesis
by
April 2024, no. 463

Frank Moorhouse: Strange paths has no introduction, but Matthew Lamb describes it in his author’s note as ‘the first in a projected two-volume cultural biography of Frank Moorhouse’, covering the long writing apprenticeship of 1938–74 during which Moorhouse ‘br[oke] into the literary establishment, on his own terms’. Lamb does not explain his use of the term ‘cultural biography’ within the book, but the term is apt to describe how ‘biography intersects with social history’ as the book tracks Moorhouse’s ‘negotiation of shifting social conventions and historical moments’ (as Lamb puts it in an article on the Penguin website titled ‘“When the facts conflict with the legend”  – How does a biographer balance storytelling with the truth?’).

Frank Moorhouse: Strange paths

Frank Moorhouse: Strange paths

by Matthew Lamb

Knopf, $45 hb, 480 pp

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Comment (1)

  • This review is immensely perceptive. I interviewed Matthew Lamb for my new podcast Biographers in Conversation about the choices he made while researching, crafting, and publishing 'Strange Paths'. During our conversation, he answered many of the questions asked in this review. Matthew's episode will be published on 17 April at: https://www.biographersinconversation.com/. A preview of Matthew's episode remarks is available at: https://www.biographersinconversation.com/sneak-peek/
    Posted by Gabriella Kelly-Davies
    29 March 2024

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