'Recollections of a maverick diplomat', 1970s-1993

Component identifier:

Series 15

Content Summary:

Forsyth started writing and researching his three-part autobiography in the late 1970s. The first book, 'In old Australia', 1841-1941, was completed in 1982. The second book, 'The Evatt years', 1942-51, was largely written although not completed, and the third book, 'Pride and fall' exists only as a collection of notes, a sketched outline and a draft introduction. 'The Evatt years' includes chapters at various stages of completion: some have been reworked extensively, others have stayed as first drafts, yet others consist mainly of transcribed tape material. The introduction to 'Pride and fall' exists only on a transcribed tape. The overall book has a complex structure with three major books, part numbers within the individual books and some chapters containing four parts. Forsyth extracted original papers from his collection in order to refresh his memory or to reproduce as annexes to chapters reorganising correspondence into subjects matching chapters, for instance, 'Dili' or 'Japan'. Where possible the Library has restored original papers to a chronological context.

This series contains all the manuscripts, drafts, working notes, tapes, transcribed tapes, research materials, letters and notes for the three-part autobiography 'Recollections of a maverick diplomat'.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The papers were donated to the Library in several small instalments during the 1970s and 1980s and one large instalment after Forsyth's death in March 1993.

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