When London Calls: The Expatriation of Australian Creative Artists to Britain [Hardcover]

Stephen Alomes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521620317 | ISBN-13: 978-0521620314 | Publication Date: October 28, 1999 | Edition: First Edition

For many actors, painters, musicians and writers, leaving Australia seemed to be the only path to personal and professional fulfillment. Drawing on the lives of people such as Dame Joan Sutherland, Jill Neville, Barry Humphries, Germaine Greer and Clive James, this book explores the experience of being an expatriate in London in the creative and performing arts. It is also a cultural history that traces shifts in the relationship between Australia and Britain, as the supposed colonial backwater began to develop its own national identity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

' ... a delightful revelation of English attitudes to Australians and vice-versa.' The Examiner

' ... a valuable book ... Thoroughly researched, earnestly argued, it combs over the experience of exile and displacement.' The Weekend Australian

'... makes a valuable contribution in exploring and contextualising expatriatism'. Australian Book Review

Book Description

For many actors, painters, musicians and writers, leaving Australia seemed to be the only path to personal and professional fulfilment. Drawing on the lives of people such as Dame Joan Sutherland, Jill Neville, Barry Humphries, Germaine Greer and Clive James, this book explores the experience of being an expatriate in London in the creative and performing arts. It is also a cultural history that traces shifts in the relationship between Australia and Britain, as the supposed colonial backwater began to develop its own national identity.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 334 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; First Edition edition (October 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521620317
• ISBN-13: 978-0521620314
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,667,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A more complex view of Australia's cultural identity, June 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: When London Calls: The Expatriation of Australian Creative Artists to Britain (Hardcover)

Australia has an ambivalent attitude towards its expatriates, especially the more successful ones. This book pays due attention to those ones and also gives lots of detail on less well known ones. The speculation on cultural significance and change brings in many issues and ideas not considered before and the increased complexity is very welcome. It is a little hard to keep track of the themes and the people because of the format Alomes uses, but the material is there is you want to look for it. A very useful book if you are interested in Australia's view of itself.