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Power Without Glory

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Power Without Glory
First edition
AuthorFrank J. Hardy
LanguageEnglish
GenreThriller, novel
PublisherRealist Printing & Publishing Co
Publication date1950
Publication placeAustralia
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages669 pp
ISBN0-09-184206-9
OCLC47707257

Power Without Glory is a 1950 historical novel written by Australian author Frank Hardy, following the life and ambitions of John West, a politician born into a working-class family who rises to prominence in Australian federal politics.

Following the novel's publication, Ellen Wren, the wife of bookmaker and businessman John Wren sued Hardy for criminal libel, claiming that the characters of John West and his wife Nellie were modelled on the Wrens, and that Nellie's affair in the novel was libellous to Ellen Wren.[1] Ultimately Hardy was cleared and publication allowed.[2]

Publication

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The work was originally self-published, with illustrations by "Amb" Dyson, a friend of Hardy, with the subtitle "a novel in three parts by Frank J. Hardy, Ross Franklyn". "Ross Franklyn" was the pseudonym Hardy had always used prior to Power Without Glory. This combination of real name and pen name was also used in Hardy's 1961 book The Hard Way, which described the difficulties "Ross Franklyn" had in having the book published, and the problems Hardy faced in answering the criminal libel charge against him arising from the publication.[3]

Hardy was a member of the Communist Party of Australia, which featured in the novel as the enemy of the protagonist; and the work was completed whilst at Camp Eureka in 1949.[4] After the novel's publication, Hardy unsuccessfully ran for office as a member of the Communist Party.[5]

Hardy wrote in his later work, The Hard Way, that he felt dissatisfied with the final chapters of the novel. In his desire to complete the long work at a manageable length for publication, and with the threats regarding the novel's publication, Hardy felt the final chapters were hurried.

The publication of Power Without Glory and its success was credited as being linked to the creation of the Australasian Book Society, which Hardy was key to founding.[6]

Plot

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Power Without Glory follows the life of John West, who is born into an impoverished family in the fictitious Melbourne suburb of Carringbush, which is based on the suburbs of Abbotsford and Collingwood. When the novel opens, in 1893, West is twenty-four years old and already involved in criminal activities including gambling and bookmaking. The novel follows West's life as he rises to be a highly ambitious businessman and corrupt politician, as a powerbroker for the Australian Labor Party.

The novel is partly set during World War I, and the debate about conscription is a major issue in the novel. West is a fierce patriot who supports conscription, and his sometimes fiery arguments with the Irish-Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, who opposes conscription on the grounds that to send men to aid England was contrary to his, and Ireland's, historical enmity with that country.

West's family dramas are many: his brother Arthur spends time in jail for aiding and abetting a crime of rape, West's wife Nellie has an affair with a tradesman and falls pregnant with his child, and his daughter becomes a member of the Communist Party of Australia in the years after the War.

West's relationship with Communism is a hateful one, and he heavily finances the efforts of the (real life) anti-communist, Roman Catholic B. A. Santamaria. This crusade damages both his family fortunes and his marriage, and continues until West's death as an old man in 1950.

Characters

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The novel can be considered a Roman à clef, or a novel in which many of the characters correlate with real-life figures of the time, including Victorian Premier Sir Thomas Bent and Prime Minister James Scullin.

The following list attempts to align Power Without Glory characters with real historical persons who may have been inspirational to the author. Recognisable features do not necessarily imply any attempt at an exact correlation. Hardy himself conceded or even affirmed some such correlations, but stated in The Hard Way that many such lists were being created and passed around by parties without his involvement, perhaps even without his knowledge.

Novel characterReal-life personNotes
Family nameFirst namePossible correlationOccupation
AshtonFrankFrank AnsteyLabor politician and social propagandist
BaconSnowyReginald Leslie (Snowy) Bakerfight promoter, sportsman, actor, soldier, and journalist ('versatile')
BennettThe Gentleman ThiefHon. W.J. BeckettMLC for Melbourne North, Melbourne East & Melbourne[7]
BlackwellMauriceMaurice BlackburnState Labor MP for Essendon, Fitzroy & Clifton Hill; Federal Labor MP for Bourke
BlaireSir Thomas BlameyArmy general and Victorian Police Commissioner, 1925–1936
BondThomasSir Thomas Bent32nd Premier of Victoria, 1904–1909
BradleyRichardRichard BuckleyA notorious gunman and murderer
BradyWilliamBill BarryState Labor MP for Carlton; minister in various Cain Governments
CallinanPolice CommissionerThomas O'CallaghanVictorian Police Commissioner, 1902–1913
CameronCampbellCycling promoter exhibition
CarrJohnJohn CainLeader of Victorian Labor Party; Premier on three occasions
ConnArchbishopThomas CarrCatholic Archbishop of Melbourne, 1886–1917
CreganJ.Jack CremeanFederal Labor MP for Hoddle
CuttingSlasherJohn "Snowy" CutmoreGunman and thief
DarbyLouLes DarcyBoxer
DavisonAlfieSir Albert DunstanConservative Victorian Premier, 1935–1943
DevlinDrSir Hugh Devine
DwyerGodfreySir Gilbert DyettLong-serving President of the Returned and Services League of Australia
GardsideDavidDavid GaunsonProminent criminal barrister
GibbonSir S.Sir Samuel Gillott, Chief Secretary in the Bent Cabinet
HoranNedNed HoganLabor Premier of Victoria on two occasions
JogginsRev.Reverend G. JudkinsA prominent anti-vice crusader; preacher
JollyBobBob SollyState Labor MP for Carlton
KelleherPaddyPat KennellyMLC for Melbourne West; Federal Labor Secretary
KielyMichaelStandish Michael KeonState MP for Richmond; later Federal MP for Yarra
LambRichardDick LeanManager of Melbourne Stadium
LambertPercyPercy LaidlerTheatrical supplier of 201 Bourke St; prominent socialist
LammenceFrankFrank Laurence
LaneJack LangNSW Labor leader; Premier of New South Wales
LassiterfamilyLoughnan family
LevyBenBen NathanFounder of Maples Store
McCorkellWilliam McCormackLabor Premier of Queensland
MaloneDanielDr. Daniel MannixCatholic Archbishop of Melbourne, 1917–1963
Manson"Plugger" Pete"Plugger" Bill MartinCyclist
MortonFimJim MorleyCommunist organiser; journalist with the Morning Post
MurkettKennethSir Keith MurdochJournalist and newspaper proprietor
O'FlahertyDaveDetective O'DonnellChief of Gaming Squad, Victoria Police
ParelliPellegrini
ParkerCliveClyde PalmerJournalist with The Truth newspaper
PiggyPiggy Ryan,
alias Williamson		A gunman and standover man
RealT. J.T. J. RyanPremier of Queensland
RedmondRonRon RichardsAboriginal boxer
RenfreySugarRobert "Sugar" RobertsMayor of Collingwood
RobinsonBarneyBarney Reynolds
SandowAd SantelA champion wrestler
ScattBobBob Solly
SolomonSolSol. GreenA big bookmaker
SqueersBillBill SquiresA boxer
SummerJamesJames ScullinLabor MP; Prime Minister, 1929–1932
SwintonSir George SwinburneAn engineer, politician and philanthropist
TannerSnoopySquizzy TaylorA gunman and thief
Thurgood"Red Ted" TheodoreLabor Premier of Queensland; 1919–1925, Federal Treasurer; mining and business magnate
TinnTedTed ThyeBogus champion wrestler
TrumblewoodThomasTom TunnecliffeLabor MP for Collingwood; Speaker, 1937–1940
WattyJimJack WelshSecretary, Milk Distribution Association
WestfamilyWren family
WilliamsDetectiveHarry Herbert WilsonA detective with Victoria Police
WodmanPaddyPaddy Boardman

Locations

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Novel locationReal-life locationNotes
ApsomEpsom Racecourse, Mordialloc
Bagville StreetSackville Street, Collingwood
CarringbushCollingwood
ChirrabooChillagoe, Queensland
Jackson StreetJohnston Street, Fitzroy and Collingwood
RalstoneRichmond[a]
RichtonRichmond Racecourse
Royal Oak HotelRoyal Mail Hotel
Silver StreetGold Street, Collingwood

Court case

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Hardy was tried for criminal libel in 1951 on the basis of the depiction in the novel of West's wife having an affair but he was acquitted by jury, after putting a number of arguments and cross-examining witnesses. It was the last prosecution for criminal (as opposed to civil) libel in Victoria.

The case attracted enormous publicity, coinciding as it did with the anti-Communist referendum and served mainly to give the novel and any negative portrayal of Wren greater prominence. Hardy readily conceded that he had published the work, and so the defense was built on the remaining two points, of whether the informant Ellen Wren was in fact identical with the character Nellie West, and if so, whether in fact the publication was defamatory.

Witnesses had testified that they recognized Ellen in the character of Nellie, and that she had been defamed. Hardy's successful defense, as described in The Hard Way, argued that while the character of John West had character traits of John Wren, he was also an amalgam of ideas, with many events in the story not correlating to Wren's life. Hardy argued that if John Wren was not solely based on John West, then the character's wife could not solely be based on Ellen Wren. Hardy was acquitted of all charges, and the novel was published to a wider audience than its initial publication.

Historians have debated whether Ellen Wren did actually have an affair and conceive an illegitimate son, as in the novel. In The Hard Way, Hardy denied ever having spoken to any member of the Wren family during his extensive research for the book, claiming the affair was entirely fictional. However, in 2005, Monash University academic Jenny Hocking claimed to have discovered archival material supporting the argument that Ellen Wren did indeed have an affair with a tradesperson, and that Hardy may have had knowledge of the affair.[9]

TV series adaptation

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In 1976, the novel was made into a 26-episode ABC-TV series starring Martin Vaughan as West.[10][11] While Nellie's affair with the brickie is depicted, the affair does not produce a child. The series won numerous Logie, Penguin and Sammy Awards.[12][13]

Cast

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Other books

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Hardy wrote several books examining his experiences arising from writing Power Without Glory, including The Hard Way: The Story Behind Power without Glory (1961), Who Shot George Kirkland?: A Novel About the Nature of Truth (1981), and But the Dead are Many: A Novel in Fugue Form (1975). In these a central theme is the ambiguity between truth and fiction.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ There has been a Ralston St in South Yarra, across the river from Richmond, since 1857.[8]

References

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  1. ↑ "Witness 'Would Have Liked To Kill Hardy'". The Argus. Melbourne. 17 January 1951. Retrieved 6 July 2020 – via Trove. National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ Griffin, James (2006) [1990]. "Wren, John". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 12. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "The living are few, Frank tells us, But The Dead Are Many" (PDF). Trojan Press. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Camp Eureka (Place ID 103729)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. n.d. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
  5. ↑ Lennon, Troy (21 March 2017). "Power of Frank Hardy's words won glory for working class". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  6. ↑ McLaren, John (1996). Writing in Hope and Fear: Literature as Politics in Postwar Australia. Cambridge University Press. p. 35. ISBN 9780521567565.
  7. ↑ "William James Beckett (Appointed C.B.E in January 1953.)". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ Steger, Jason (12 November 2005). "Mrs Wren and the brickie: the veil lifted". The Age. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  10. ↑ Power Without Glory at IMDb
  11. ↑ Hardy, Frank (1961). The Hard Way (1976 ed.). Fontana.
  12. ↑ "Power Without Glory". Memorable TV. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  13. ↑ "Logie Awards 1974-177". australiantelevision.net. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
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