When Nicole Moore discovered the secret ‘censor’s library’ in the National Archives – 793 boxes prohibited from the 1920s to the 1980s – so began a journey that resulted in this, the first comprehensive examination of Australian book censorship.

For much of the twentieth century, Australia banned more books and more serious books than most other English-speaking or Western countries, from the Kama Sutra through to Huxley’s Brave New World and Joyce’s Ulysses. Federal publications censorship was a largely secret affair and deliberately kept from the knowledge of the Australian public until the scandals and protests of late last century.

Censorship continues to attract heated debate, from the Henson affair to the national internet feed. Combining rigorous scholarship with the narrative tension of a thriller, The Censor’s Library is a provocative account of this scandalous history.

Nicole Moore is Associate Professor in English at the University of New South Wales. Hear Nicole talk with Louise Maher on ABC Canberra about her hunt for these books.

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