The Underground Man

One of the crime authors that Donna Leon wrote about in her book, Backstage, was Ross Macdonald (1915-1983) so I decided to borrow one of his books from the library. He was best known for Lew Archer series of books set in California. The Underground Man was published in 1971 and is number sixteen in the series of eighteen books.

Lew Archer is a private detective. One morning he meets a six year old boy, Ronny, who is staying next door and together they feed the birds in the garden. When the boy's father arrives and takes him away in the car, Archer agrees to travel with the boy's mother to make sure that her son is OK. So begins a  story of murder, complicated family relationships with children brought up in unstable families plus danger from a nearby forest fire.

This is an old style, fast moving crime novel set in a time frame where life, for the most part, was lived differently from today.

The Boy from Brunswick: Leonard French - a biography

The Australian artist, Leonard French (1928-2017), in Melbourne is possibly best known for the stained glass window forming the ceiling of the Great Hall, National Gallery of Victoria since the opening of the building in August 1968. He used the glasswork in the ceiling 'to paint with light' and the work has become a feature of the art gallery. It is not unusual to see people lying on the floor gazing at the magnificent ceiling.

 

Reg MacDonald, in this impressive publication, has attempted to write a history of this Australian artist and his work. This is a detailed biography of the artist who was born in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick.

Autumn in the garden 1960

 The book contains photographs showing examples of some of his work which included colourful abstracts using enamels on hessian or board as well as his work in stained glass.

The stained glass window at Robert Blackwood Hall at Monash University is another of his stained glass masterpieces.

This book makes a useful contribution to the telling of the story of the history of Australian art.

The roses of no man's land

One of the books that was frequently mentioned in the forum of the online course - World War I: a history in 100 stories - was the book by Lyn Macdonald, The roses of no man's land.  Lyn is a British author who has written a series of books on World War I based on first hand accounts of those who were involved. In The roses of no man's land she focuses on the stories of the medical personnel, particularly the VADs and nurses, as well as some of those injured providing another viewpoint of the events and effects of the war.

The book is divided into three sections - 1914-1915, 1915-1917 and 1918. Part of the first section tells the story of the unofficial teams of women, led by a woman of society, who took it upon themselves to establish hospitals and ambulance services for the injured. The book then looks at the development of the VADs - members of the Voluntary Aid Detachment - who initially assisted in hospitals in England but as the war wore on were used in medical units at the front, some undertaking nursing duties. The book looks at the development of the war through the experiences of these medical workers and their patients. One of the issues looked at is the reaction of trained nurses to the VADs. This experience parallels the accounts written of the experiences of Australian nurses working with British medical teams.

This book is another valuable contribution to the history of the First World War. Other books by Lyn Macdonald include They called it Passchendaele, Somme, 1914-the days of hope, 1914-1918-voices of the Great War, 1915 - death of innocence, To the last man: Spring 1918 and At the going down of the sun (co-author).