From Frank Moorhouse 17 July 2009: 'The Illegal Relatives, a paper-covered, newsprint 96 page booklet, published sometime in early 1970s at a backyard printery in Glebe, Sydney, is a pirated edition of three of my short stories, printer unknown, illustrated in collaboration with Jenny Coopes with additional drawings by Peter ----? added by the printer. This was planned to be an illegal or 'underground' publication by Jenny and me as an action against censorship and as a way of getting my stories out to a readership and perhaps to make some return through private sales.
In 1973 the Whitlam government stopped censorship of the printed word and the states dropped their court actions against the underground newspaper Thor (with which Jenny and I were associated). The printer (name forgotten) however, against my wishes (see the introduction to the booklet by the printer), went ahead with the publication and sold copies privately and through the Sydney bookseller Bob Gould (who later paid a royalty directly to me for the 100 copies he had in his shop). The booklet contains 'Watchtown', 'The Oracular Stories' (which has three titled parts to it), and 'The Alter Ego Interpretation'. Revised versions of these three stories appeared in Tales of Mystery and Romance, Angus and Robertson (London), 1977. This was my first overseas publication. 'Watchtown' was retitled in this and these subsequent editions as 'The Mystery of the Time Piece'. Tales of Mystery and Romance has had five subsequent editions. Ignoring the Illegal Relatives booklet, Tales of Mystery and Romance was my fourth published book.'
