23/04/2026
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the publication of Jack Lindsay’s Eureka Stockade-themed young adult novel, 'Rebels of the Goldfields'. Published in 1936, the book is an early example of Lindsay’s embrace of revolutionary socialism, following his rejection of the neo-classical and Nietzschean influences of his father, the Creswick-born artist Norman Lindsay.
Born in Melbourne in 1900, Jack Lindsay was a disciplined creative force with wide-ranging interests and an entrepreneurial spirit. He left Australia for Europe in 1926, settling in London and co-founding Fanfrolico Press. Fanfrolico produced limited-edition books featuring etchings by black-and-white artists, including his father Norman and his uncle Lionel.
With the closure of Fanfrolico in 1930, Lindsay retreated to the English countryside, where his reading ultimately drew him to Marxism. This entirely transformed his intellectual outlook, and from this point forward he pursued a career exclusively as a writer, publishing books and contributing to communist-aligned publications. He wrote across his varied fields of interest, including art, literature, history and politics. His career as a poet, novelist, historian, critic and translator began in his early twenties, and he remained prolific until his death in Cambridge in 1990.
Image 1: Frontis piece in Jack Lindsay, 'Rebels of the Goldfields', 1936. Lawrence & Wishart Ltd., London. Illustrator George Scott.
Image 2: Unknown artist, 'Norman and Jack' c1903, gelatin silver photograph on paper (sheet: 16.7 cm x 16.4 cm, image: 13.9 cm x 8.4 cm), Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Purchased 2008.
