First published in 1951 and again in 1959, Dal Stivens’s novel, Jimmy Brockett, is now republished as one of Penguin’s ‘Australian Selection’. Reading it, you find yourself being drawn into admiration of a man who is undeniably obnoxious. How can one feel any sympathy for (not just interest in) a turn-of-the-century Sydney fights promoter whom we see fanning interest in a rigged contest, ... (read more)