in the name of the law

[adelaidesean]

The wonderful Amanda has a new book out.

In the Name of the Law: William Willshire and the Policing of the Australian Frontier hit the shelves last week.

What's it about? The misadventures of my evil great-great-uncle, for one.

"This subtle but shocking work penetrates to Australia's heart of darkness, illuminating a culture of terror in which a white man's murderous violence was the law of the land, acknowledged at one moment only to be forgotten at another in the writing of the nation's history." (Bain Attwood)

It's a corker, in a sober and thought-provoking way. If you're interested in this area of history, you'll love it.

Comments

[jack-ryder.livejournal.com]

Blast you, Sean, blast you!!!

After watching the disappointing Bell Shakespeare Othello and discussing an adaptation based around the native police, you go and wave a secondary source in my face!!

(Now I feel I'll have to buy it and write the script! Aarrghh!)

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, you must! That sounds like a terrific idea. The universe is sending you a clear message, and who are you to ignore it? :-)

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

Please, darling, we need a copy.

I must sometime do my entry on that production.

[ladnews.livejournal.com]

Do. I'm curious to know why it was disappointing.

In particular: What was Marcus Graham like?

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

Marcus was good, but they made Iago a joker. Okay, that can be a valid reading of the text, but it undermined the claustrophia and tension in the play. I felt the director did not trust the text, so they made it funny. Also Wayne Blair's acting was very understated, and there was no sense of Othello's charsima and sense of command. That allowed Iago to run off with the production. More later. I have a boring report to write. I'd prefere to do Shakespeare....