Abstract

Patrick White (1912–1990) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973 and remains one of Australia’s most celebrated writers. In 2006, White’s literary executor, Barbara Mobbs, released a highly significant collection of hitherto unpublished papers, reviving mainstream and scholarly interest in his work. 'Patrick White Beyond the Grave' considers White’s writing in light of the new findings, acknowledging his homosexuality in relation to the development of his literary style, examining the way he engages his readers, and contextualizing his life and oeuvre in relation to London and to London life. Thought-provoking, this collection of original essays represents the work of an outstanding list of White scholars from around the globe, and will no doubt inspire further work on White from a rising generation of scholars of twentieth-century literature beyond Australia.

‘A lively reminder that great writing continues to speak beyond its author’s death, this fine collection of essays by Patrick White scholars from around the world brings fresh perspectives from the archives and biography, and from modernist, postcolonial and queer studies, to the rich range of White’s work.’ —Susan Sheridan, Flinders University

Ian Henderson is the Head of the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, King’s College London and lectures in the Department of English Language and Literature. Anouk Lang is a lecturer in Digital Humanities in the Department of English Literature at the University of Edinburgh.

‘Patrick White haunts us because he dared to speak the deliciously unsayable whether on sexuality, politics, the battle between personality and truth, or the impact of the Australian voice. This collection of essays documents and challenges the depth and internationalism of new critical reception. It is inspired, dealing with a quest for truth in White’s writings and the tensions between the belief and disbelief in a postcolonial global world of the sacred and the profane.’ —Ann McCulloch, Deakin University

Patrick White (1912–1990) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973 and remains one of Australia’s most celebrated writers. This book represents new work by an outstanding list of White scholars from around the globe. White’s centenary revived mainstream interest in White in Australia and included a major exhibition on his life at the National Library of Australia. So too did the discovery of a highly significant hoard of hitherto unknown papers which were released by White’s literary executor Barbara Mobbs in 2006. The book aims to carry this momentum outwards to the rest of the world.

The contributors’ research is lodged in forwards-oriented methodologies and expressed in accessible language. On the whole, the collection is notable for its acknowledgement of White’s homosexuality in relation to the development of his literary style, in its consideration of the way his writing ‘works’ on/with readers, and for its contextualizing of his life and oeuvre in relation to London and to London life.

The title of the book reflects the effect on White scholarship of the newly discovered papers, the focus of numerous chapters on the farcical and ‘knockabout’ qualities of White’s work, and the contributors’ intention to inspire further work on White from a rising generation of scholars of twentieth-century literature beyond Australia.

‘Patrick White haunts us because he dared to speak the deliciously unsayable whether on sexuality, politics, the battle between personality and truth, or the impact of the Australian voice. This collection of essays documents and challenges the depth and internationalism of new critical reception. It is inspired, dealing with a quest for truth in White’s writings and the tensions between the belief and disbelief in a postcolonial global world of the sacred and the profane.’ —Ann McCulloch, Deakin University

‘With standout essays by Gail Jones, Ivor Indyk and Ian Henderson, this book leaves the critical battles of yesteryear behind to advance Patrick White studies in new and timely directions.’ —Jennifer Rutherford, University of Adelaide

‘With standout essays by Gail Jones, Ivor Indyk and Ian Henderson, this book leaves the critical battles of yesteryear behind to advance Patrick White studies in new and timely directions.’ —Jennifer Rutherford, University of Adelaide

‘A lively reminder that great writing continues to speak beyond its author’s death, this fine collection of essays by Patrick White scholars from around the world brings fresh perspectives from the archives and biography, and from modernist, postcolonial and queer studies, to the rich range of White’s work.’ —Susan Sheridan, Flinders University