A novel of the Depression

Tom saw real misery on the face of this man, reduced to begging in public for the right to work, for the right to exist. It was the same misery he had seen on the faces of so many others, their lives shattered by forces they could not understand or control. Homeless and hungry, without hope, they saw that others had plenty

Sydney, 1931. Tom Lawson, a twenty-four year old graduate student in Classics at Sydney University, has witnessed the "most sensational eviction battle Sydney has ever seen." Shocked by the biased account of the riot given by the newspapers, he offers a statement to the police. This leads him into a web of entanglements beyond his experience. His life becomes even more complicated when he meets Dolly Delhunty, who seems much beyond his reach.

In the meantime, Tom learns that the nineteen men arrested during the eviction are to be put on trial for riot, but the Crown Prosecutor does not intend using his statement. His brother Doug advises Tom against involvement, saying "We're the little people, the ones who don't count for much. If you upset the powerful they'll turn on you."

About the Author

JCM Hood is now retired after a forty year career as a teacher of Greek, Latin, Ancient, Medieval and Modern History. His first novel, entitled Island of Tyrants, was self-published in 2015. This current novel, Union Street, is set in Sydney in 1931, in the aftermath of the most violent anti-eviction battle ever seen in that city.