Creatively curating culture: Angus & Robertson’s mass-review strategy, 1895–1949

Abstract

This book history thesis explores the complex promotional strategy of Australia’s largest publishing house, Angus & Robertson, in the period from 1895 to 1949. Angus & Robertson carefully distributed vast quantities of their books to newspapers and periodicals around the world. Their goal was to solicit reviews that would reach diverse audiences, reducing the need for paid advertising. This audacious mass-review strategy has not been fully explored in past studies of the firm, reflecting broader scholarly silences when it comes to historicised aspects of reviewing. The limited research that does exist tends to focus on long-form literary evaluations at the expense of other review types. The present study addresses those gaps through an examination of book reviews and related records held within the Angus & Robertson Archive. Qualitative research has been supplemented by quantitative analysis made possible by the construction of a large bespoke database based on the archival materials. What emerges is a nuanced story of how Angus & Robertson’s promotional strategy involved hard-edged business practices and a leveraging of their own market power, a narrative that is contrary to the publishers’ self-presentation as altruistic leaders on a noble mission for Australian literature. Further, Angus & Robertson’s mass-review strategy celebrated a specific, narrow image of the nation defined by the romanticised bush and, later, the laconic Anglo bushman, contributing to exclusionary constructions of Australianness. This close investigation of how one publisher was creatively curating culture thus seeks to expand approaches to the study of reviewing, the book trade and national identity.

Date of Award	2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Simon Burrows (Supervisor)