The First Stone: Some Questions About Sex and Power

Garner, Helen

ISBN 10: 033035583X / ISBN 13: 9780330355834

Published by Picador, Sydney, 1995

About this Item

Octavo Size [approx 15.5 x 22.8cm]. Very Good condition. Robust, professional packaging and tracking provided for all parcels. 222 pages. Garner's controversial book about the sexual harassment scandal at Melbourne's Ormond College.

Seller Inventory # 317648

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The First Stone: Some Questions About Sex and Power
• Publisher: Picador, Sydney
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 033035583X
• ISBN 13: 9780330355834
• Binding: Softcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Seller catalogs:
  • Social Science

About this title

Synopsis

This bold, beautifully wrought piece of investigative journalism presents the gripping story of a celebrated sexual harassment case brought by two female students against their college schoolmaster. Compelling and intimate, "The First Stone" challenges the blind orthodoxy of today's new breed of feminists and tells of the cost of party-line politics over the more complex matters of human relations.

Review

The First Stone is at once an account of one of Australia's most explosive sexual harassment cases and an investigation into soul of sexual politics. To provide the framework of her inquiry, Helen Garner uses the very public case of a University of Melbourne college master accused of sexual harassment by two of his students. After reading about the charge in the newspaper, Garner, a longtime feminist, impulsively wrote a letter of support to the accused man. The letter was made public and in the wake of much criticism over her support of the man, Garner set out to explore the women's claims. Along the way she uncovers issues that challenge her notions of feminism, political activism, gender relations, and power dynamics. With a journalist's eye for detail, Garner leads the reader into a riveting examination of the nature of sex and power in contemporary society.