Russell Reading Braddon (25 January 1921 – 20 March 1995) was an Australian writer of novels, biographies and TV scripts. His chronicle of his four years as a prisoner of war, The Naked Island, sold more than a million copies.
Russell Braddon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Russell Reading Braddon 25 January 1921 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 20 March 1995 (aged 74) Urunga, New South Wales, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Novelist |
Braddon was born on 25 January 1921 in North Sydney, New South Wales. He was the son of Thelma Doris (née Reading) and Henry Russell Braddon. His father, a barrister, was the grandson of Tasmanian premier Edward Braddon.[1]
Braddon enlisted in the Australian Army during World War II,[2] serving in the Malayan campaign. He was held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese in Pudu and Changi prisons and on the Thailand-Burma Railway between 1942 and 1945.[3][4] During this time he met Ronald Searle, whose Changi sketches illustrate The Naked Island.[5]
After the war, he went on to study law at University of Sydney. Nevertheless, he failed to obtain a law degree (he maintained that he had lost interest in the subject) and he abandoned undergraduate life in 1948.[6]
In 1949, Braddon moved to England after suffering a mental breakdown and followed by a suicide attempt. Doctors attributed this breakdown to his POW experiences, and urged him to take a year to recuperate. He described his writing career as "beginning by chance". The Naked Island, published in 1952, was one of the first accounts of a Japanese prisoner of war's experience.
Braddon went on to produce a wide range of works, including novels, biographies, histories, TV scripts and newspaper articles. In addition, he was a frequent broadcaster on British radio and television.[7] He died in 1995 at his home in Urunga, New South Wales, having returned to Australia two years before.[8]
Proud Australian Boy: A Biography of Russell Braddon by Nigel Starck was published in Australia in 2011.
Works
editNovels
- Those in Peril (1954)
- Out of the Storm (1956)
- Gabriel Comes to 24 (1958)
- The Proud American Boy (1960)
- The Year of the Angry Rabbit (1964)
- Committal Chamber (1966)
- The Inseparables (1968)
- When the Enemy Is Tired (1968)
- Will You Walk a Little Faster? (1969)
- Prelude and Fugue for Lovers (1971)
- Progress of Private Lilyworth (1971)
- End Play (1972)
- The Thirteenth Trick (1973)
- The Finalists (1977)
- The Predator (1980)
- Funnelweb (1990)
Non-fiction
- The Piddingtons (1950)
- The Naked Island (1952)
- Cheshire V.C: A Study of War and Peace (1954)
- Woman in Arms: The Story of Nancy Wake (1956)
- Nancy Wake: The Story of a Very Brave Woman (1956)
- End of a Hate (1958)
- Joan Sutherland (1962)
- Roy Thomson of Fleet Street (Collins, 1965)
- The Siege (1969)
- Suez: The Splitting of a Nation (1973)
- Hundred Days of Darien (1974)
- All the Queen's Men (1977)
- Japan Against the World (1983)
- The Other Hundred Years War (1983)
- Australia Fair? (1984)
- Thomas Baines and the North Australian Expedition (1987)
- Prisoners of War with Hugh Clarke and Colin Burgess (1988)
Broadcasts
- BBC The Piddingtons 1950: The Tower of London Broadcast: http://www.thepiddingtons.com/broadcasts.html
References
edit- ^ Starck, Nigel (2021). "Braddon, Russell Reading (1921–1995)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 19.
- ^ Interview with Russell Braddon (When the War Came to Australia) Australian War Memorial. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
- ^ "Prophet of Doom – but a smiling one" by Julie Kusko, The Australian Women's Weekly, 7 July 1971, p7
- ^ "Fearless Man of Fighting Words", The Canberra Times, 28 March 1995, p9
- ^ "The Belles of St. Trinian's: Little Monsters All", The Sun-Herald, 14 February 1954, p22
- ^ "OBITUARIES Russell Braddon". The Independent. 29 March 1995.
- ^ IMDB – Russell Braddon (1921–1995)
- ^ "Russell Braddon, 74, Australian Author". The New York Times. 8 April 1995.