The Sons of Clovis: Ern Malley, Adore Floupette and a secret history of Australian poetry

In the mid-1940s, writers James McAuley and Harold Stewart submitted a series of poems to the modernist literary magazine, Angry Penguins, under the fictitious name Ern Malley. In a flurry of excitement, the poems were published in a special edition proclaiming the discovery of an important new Australian voice. When the hoax was exposed, it occupied the front page of newspapers around the nation for weeks. It is still Australia’s best-known and most talked-about literary hoax.

For the past twenty years, David Brooks has been on a quest to find the inspiration for the hoax and this journey has uncovered astounding facts that will overturn all previous assumptions about the hoax and its origins. The resulting book is not just an account of the Ern Malley hoax; it is also a fascinating study of literary hoaxes and poetry in general. Written in a playful narrative style that takes the reader on a wide-ranging journey, The Sons of Clovis will be one of the most talked-about literary books of 2011.

Features eight pages of colour illustrations.