'Frank Hardy, Jean Devanny and Dorothy Hewett were all significantly influenced as writers by their membership of the Communist Party, and the views of art and culture dominant in or debated around the Party; expectations in particular of what the 'social realist' novel should or might be impacted upon the work of all three. This essay addresses some issues of politics, committed writing and sexual politics, with particular reference to how these were played out for writers who were communists in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.' (p.71)