Russell Reading Braddon (25 January 1921 – 20 March 1995) was an Australian

writer of novels A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

, biographies and TV scripts. His chronicle of his four years as a prisoner of war, '' The Naked Island'', sold more than a million copies. Braddon was born in Sydney, the son of a barrister. He served in the Malayan campaign during World War II. He was held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese in

Pudu The pudus (Mapudungun ''püdü'' or ''püdu'', es, pudú, ) are two species of South American deer from the genus ''Pudu'', and are the world's smallest deer. The chevrotains (mouse-deer; Tragulidae) are smaller, but they are not true deer. The ...

and

Changi Changi () is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah, Singapore, Tanah Merah in the East Region, Singapore, East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, ...

prisons and on the

Thailand-Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

between 1942 and 1945. During this time he met

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE, Royal Designers for Industry, RDI (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and i ...

, whose Changi sketches illustrate ''The Naked Island''. After the war, he went on to study law at

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...

. Nevertheless, he failed to obtain a law degree (he maintained that he had lost interest in the subject) and he abandoned undergraduate life in 1948. In 1949, Braddon moved to England after suffering a mental breakdown and followed by a suicide attempt. Doctors attributed this breakdown to his POW experiences, and urged him to take a year to recuperate. He described his writing career as "beginning by chance". ''The Naked Island'', published in 1952, was one of the first accounts of a Japanese prisoner of war's experience. Braddon went on to produce a wide range of works, including novels, biographies, histories, TV scripts and newspaper articles. In addition, he was a frequent broadcaster on British radio and television. He died in 1995 at his home in Urunga,

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, having returned to Australia two years before. ''Proud Australian Boy: A Biography of Russell Braddon'' by Nigel Starck was published in Australia in 2011.

Works

Novels * ''Those in Peril'' (1954) * ''Out of the Storm'' (1956) * ''Gabriel Comes to 24'' (1958) * ''The Proud American Boy'' (1960) * '' The Year of the Angry Rabbit'' (1964) * ''Committal Chamber'' (1966) * ''The Inseparables'' (1968) * '' When the Enemy Is Tired'' (1968) * ''Will You Walk a Little Faster?'' (1969) * ''Prelude and Fugue for Lovers'' (1971) * ''Progress of Private Lilyworth'' (1971) * ''End Play'' (1972) * ''The Thirteenth Trick'' (1973) * ''The Finalists'' (1977) * ''The Predator'' (1980) * ''Funnelweb'' (1990) Non-fiction * ''

The Piddingtons Sydney Piddington (14 May 191829 January 1991) and Lesley Piddington (1925 2 August 2016) were an Australian husband and wife mentalism team who performed as The Piddingtons and gave one of the most famous stage and radio telepathy acts of moder ...

'' (1950) * '' The Naked Island'' (1952) * ''Cheshire V.C: A Study of War and Peace'' (1954) * ''Woman in Arms: The Story of Nancy Wake'' (1956) * ''Nancy Wake: The Story of a Very Brave Woman'' (1956) * ''End of a Hate'' (1958) * ''Joan Sutherland'' (1962) * ''Roy Thomson of Fleet Street'' (Collins, 1965) * ''The Siege'' (1969) * ''Suez: The Splitting of a Nation'' (1973) * ''Hundred Days of Darien'' (1974) * ''All the Queen's Men'' (1977) * ''Japan Against the World'' (1983) * ''The Other Hundred Years War'' (1983) * ''Australia Fair?'' (1984) * ''Thomas Baines and the North Australian Expedition'' (1987) * ''Prisoners of War'' with Hugh Clarke and Colin Burgess (1988) Broadcasts * ''BBC The Piddingtons 1950: The Tower of London Broadcast: http://www.thepiddingtons.com/broadcasts.html''

References

External links

Portrait of Russell Braddon
by Paul Fitzgerald {{DEFAULTSORT:Braddon, Russell Reading 1921 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian male writers Australian male novelists Australian non-fiction writers Australian Army soldiers Australian prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Burma Railway prisoners Australian Army personnel of World War II Male non-fiction writers