Menzies at War

In the months following his resignation as prime minister of Australia in late August 1941, Robert Menzies swayed between relief at his release from the burdens of office and despair that his life at the top had come to so little. Many followers of Australian political history, including Liberal Party supporters, forget that Menzies had many years in the political wilderness not knowing he would end up being Australia’s longest-serving prime minister. This book focuses on the period between 1941, when Menzies lost the prime ministership, and 1949, when he regained it. In the interim he traveled around the world, spending an extended time in Britain during World War II, set up the Liberal Party and, the author argues, developed the leadership qualities that made him so successful.

Anne Henderson is the deputy director of the Sydney Institute, the editor of the Sydney Papers Online, and is the coeditor of the Sydney Institute Quarterly. She is the author of numerous books, including An Angel in the Court: The Life of Major Joyce Harmer; From All Corners: Six Migrant Stories; Getting Even: Women MPs on Life, Power and Politics; Joseph Lyons: The People’s Prime Minister; and The Killing of Sister Irene McCormack.