The uncle of
Paul Radley (q.v.), Jack Radley was actually the author of the three novels that were originally attributed to his great-nephew:
Jack Rivers and Me (1981);
My Blue-Checker Corker and Me (1982);
Good Mates (1985).
In 1996 Radley 'admitted he was the real author' of Jack Rivers and Me, the 'book that won his great-nephew the inaugural Australian/Vogel Literary Award'. Radley 'said he agreed to enter the book...under the name of his great-nephew Paul Radley, in a competition that was then restricted to writers under 30'. Stating that he 'was probably rebelling against age discrimination', Radley questioned 'why discriminate about a first novel whether you're 80 or 18?" Following the publication of the initial manuscript, a 'legal agreement drawn up between the men in 1984 gave Jack Radley the right to write books' using Paul Radley's name as a pseudonym.
(Source: Sydney Morning Herald 29 May 1996)
