Actors and Heroes: My Brother Jack and World War 1 on Television

Abstract

George Johnston spoke candidly about his novel 'My Brother Jack' and its significance in his life when he won the Miles Franklin Award in 1964. He told Wilfrid Thomas in a radio interview that he had rejected Australia, and that it, in turn, had spurned him after he made the decision to leave in 1951 : 'There didn't seem to be an appreciation for writing, theatre or art even though there were some things happening.' But, with My Brother Jack, Johnston declared that he 'rediscovered Australia' - and Australians likewise rediscovered him, with the novel being one of the most popular works of fiction in Australia to this day.