John Mewton Harcourt (2 March 1902 – 1971), commonly known as J. M. Harcourt, was an Australian writer, known for his 1934 novel Upsurge, which was banned soon after publication.
He published his second novel, Upsurge, in 1934,[2] which became the first Australian book to be officially
banned under the guidelines of the Commonwealth Book Censorship Board (
Norman Lindsay's Redheap had been banned under different legislation in 1930),[4] which had been established in 1933 by Prime Minister
Joseph Lyon's United Australia Party (later renamed the Literature Censorship Board).[5] It was initially banned as
seditious, later reviewed and the ban confirmed, ostensibly on grounds of
indecency[6] and explicit depictions of sex under the
Indecent Publications Act,[7] after the recently established Book Censorship Board had suggested the ban.[8] It was the first Australian novel to employ the
socialist realist style, the manner promoted by the
Soviet Union at that time. However the main cause of its ban was its
socialist tone and subversive agenda which criticised
capitalism,[9] featuring
Communist characters in its portrayal of life in the relief camps of the Depression.[2]
He published It Never Fails : Being a Narrative of the Adventures of Julius Windowen Among the Natives of the Antipodes in 1937.[2]
Harcourt died in New South Wales in 1971.[2][10][11]
^"Book reviews". The West Australian. Vol. XLIX, no. 9, 662. Western Australia. 17 June 1933. p. 4. Retrieved 16 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^Stanley, Peter (17 April 2022).
"Banned". reCollections. Review of an exhibition entitled Banned at the
National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
^""Upsurge"". The Telegraph. Queensland, Australia. 16 August 1934. p. 2 (City Final Last Minute News). Retrieved 16 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^Harcourt, J. M. (John Mewton) (1933),
The pearlers, John Long Limited, retrieved 16 April 2022
^"Pearlers of Broome". The Herald. No. 17, 549. Victoria, Australia. 12 August 1933. p. 25. Retrieved 16 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
Harcourt, J. M. (1986) Upsurge, a novel / by J.M. Harcourt. Facsim. ed. University of Western Australia Press, Nedlands, W.A. Includes an introduction by Richard A. Nile summarising the novel, its history and the life of Harcourt.