'H. V. ‘Doc’ Evatt has long been obscured by Menzies’s broad shadow, as the Labor Opposition Leader through the prosperous and complacent 1950s. In this book, one of our finest writers and sharpest minds shows Evatt in his true light: the most brilliant Australian of his day. Inspiring, cosmopolitan and humane, Evatt was the forerunner of Keating and Kirby, believing that Australia could be more than quiet and comfortable – it could be an example to the world of a compassionate, just, progressive society.
'An acclaimed advocate, champion of modern art and state member for Balmain in the NSW Parliament, in 1930 Evatt became Australia’s youngest ever High Court judge, a regular dissenter from this arch conservative body as he tried to make the law responsive to the rapidly-changing modern world. Haigh traces one case in particular – that of the Chester family, who sued Waverley Council for the trauma of their young son's drowning in an unfenced ditch. Evatt’s legal brilliance, intellectual independence and personal empathy combined in a judgement regarded as the finest of its era, arguing that people’s inner lives were as valuable as their physical selves, and ought to be recognised as such by the law. The idea was far ahead of its time, but is now a fundamental legal principle.
'Evatt had been attuned to grief by losing two brothers in the First World War, which contributed both to his zest for life and his belief that the world should offer sanctuary to the afflicted. This conviction had long-lasting expression: as Australia’s only ever President of the UN General Assembly, Evatt was instrumental in the establishment of Israel. There are not many of whom it might be said that leading their party in federal politics was a step down, but Evatt was such a figure.
'The Brilliant Boy is a feat of remarkable historical perception, deep research and masterful storytelling. It confirms Gideon Haigh as not only our finest cricket writer, but one of our best writers of non-fiction. In painting this bigger picture of our past, The Brilliant Boy allows us to think differently about our present and future.' (Publication summary)
'Gideon Haigh’s new book throws fresh light on the remarkable H.V. Evatt'
'Gideon Haigh has written a captivating account of the legal career of one of Australia’s most enthralling public figures, Herbert Vere Evatt, and a defining court case.' (Introduction)
'This is the story of two brilliant boys. Maxie Chester, who drowned in a deep ditch negligently left unfenced by Waverley Council and whose mother was traumatised by seeing his dead body brought to the surface. The other is Bert Evatt, genius son of a Maitland publican, who took all the honours the University of Sydney could bestow, became at 35 Australia’s youngest ever High Court judge and went on, at the end of the war, to help change the world. In 1939, Maxie’s miserable death intersected with “the Doc’s” intellectual power and compassion: his groundbreaking judgment opened the door to compensate all foreseeable victims of corporate carelessness.' (Introduction)
'This book is about two brilliant boys. The first is the gifted and driven Bert or Doc Evatt. Of lower- middle-class origins, he went to Sydney’s Fort Street Boys’ High and on to law at Sydney University, winning prizes and scholarships all the way. Evatt shone at the Sydney bar in the early 1920s before entering the New South Wales parliament for Labor when Jack Lang was premier. Like his friend, Vere Gordon Childe, Evatt was a Labor intellectual – a difficult position in the party of the workers – but he established his credentials when he successfully prevented the Bruce government’s deportation of two union organisers, Tom Walsh and Jacob Johnson of the Seamen’s Union. Although born overseas, both were long-time Australian residents and Evatt argued successfully before the High Court that they were beyond the reach of the Immigration Act.' (Introduction)
'This is the story of two brilliant boys. Maxie Chester, who drowned in a deep ditch negligently left unfenced by Waverley Council and whose mother was traumatised by seeing his dead body brought to the surface. The other is Bert Evatt, genius son of a Maitland publican, who took all the honours the University of Sydney could bestow, became at 35 Australia’s youngest ever High Court judge and went on, at the end of the war, to help change the world. In 1939, Maxie’s miserable death intersected with “the Doc’s” intellectual power and compassion: his groundbreaking judgment opened the door to compensate all foreseeable victims of corporate carelessness.' (Introduction)
'Gideon Haigh has written a captivating account of the legal career of one of Australia’s most enthralling public figures, Herbert Vere Evatt, and a defining court case.' (Introduction)
