John Wren: A Life Reconsidered

In this superbly written and provocative review of the historical evidence, James Griffin argues that John Wren - the man made infamous by Frank Hardy in the classic 'Power Without Glory' - has been maligned and misunderstood for decades.

Wren was a wealthy, self-made entrepreneur with interests and influence in football, horse racing, and the Labor Party. But it is Hardy's barely fictionalised denunciation of Wren as gangster, racketeer, murderer, abusive husband, and nobbler of horses and politicians that we know better. This image of Wren, embellished by television portrayals and reinforced by later historians, has remained entrenched in Australia's historical psyche.

Now, in this monumental work, Griffin demonstrates that Frank Hardy's research was fraudulent, and fuelled by political objectives and personal ambition, and that Wren was an early victim of Australia's culture wars.

In sorting rumour from fact, and perception from prejudice, James Griffin has produced an important Australian biography, and a vivid social history of the highest order.