'Half a century after Katharine Susannah Prichard’s death, it is more than timely that the first biography of the woman once hailed as a leading Australian writer is published. Her fame was at its peak in the 1930s; later, her novels were regularly set on school syllabuses. Today, however, her work is largely forgotten. To some, she is remembered for the hardline communism she maintained until her death, earning the notoriety in Western Australia that is reflected in this book’s title.' (Introduction)