Following the publication in 1950 of "Power Without Glory", the wife of Melbourne bookmaker and businessman John Wren sued author Frank J. Hardy for libel, claiming that the characters of John West and his wife Nellie were modelled on the Wrens, and that Nellie's affair in the novel was libellous to Ellen Wren.
Last night we watched episode after episode of "MotherFatherSon", and as this BBC series of a fractured family at the heart of politics and power unfolded, it was more like a doco-drama than a piece of fiction.
There were so many uncanny resemblances to real persons, dead or alive, that it seemed always incredible that the makers of this series hadn't, like Frank Hardy, been sued for libel. Of course, ultimately Hardy was cleared and "Power Without Glory" published, so perhaps those who could have felt libelled by "MotherFatherSon" may have thought it wiser not to give it extra publicity through court action.
It certainly didn't need any extra publicity with us. Not since the Aussie TV series "Old School" had we been so hooked on a show as we binge-watched as many episodes of "MotherFatherSon" as we possibly could.
We called it quits past midnight but the marathon continues tonight!
