Cirrus@Austlit

'It is as a poet that Hugh McCrae is most famous; his three prose books appeared only in limited editions and no collection of his other writing has been made for fifteen years - a period in which he has written a good deal more prose than verse. The present volume accordingly contains the whole of My Father, and My Father's Friends, such of The Du Poissey Anecdotes and the McCrae Number of Art in Australia as the author wished to perpetuate, and a comprehensive selection from his stories, sketches, personal notes, articles, essays and jokes.

It goes without saying that this collection will be of the utmost interest to students of Australian literature, but its appeal extends far beyond the specialist. It is a book that cannot fail to delight all who appreciate personality and the rich comedy of human affairs. Hugh McCrae's characteristic humour, sometimes playful, sometimes freakish, sometimes macabre, but always light and deft - enlivens both the brief, vivid portraits of notable men known to his father and himself, and the equally brilliant accounts of fictitious people and events. He packs so much of wit and poetry into these writings that one is drawn back to the best of them again and again, always finding something fresh. Story-book Only will be read in the future along with its author's verse, and should bring him recognitions as one of our masters of prose.

The charm of the book is greatly enhanced by the author's illustrations, which form a lively and witty accompaniment to the text. They add a final proof of the versatility of Hugh McCrae's talent, and, like all his work, they bear the impress of the striking and highly original personality that gives Story-book Only a character unique in our literature.' (Publisher's blurb)