Under The Rainbow

September 13, 2020 11:42 AM

Millions of books, monkeys and an orchestra — the story of EW Cole and his Book Arcade.
posted by zamboni (4 comments total)

That sounds amazing.
posted by doctornemo at 11:52 AM on September 13, 2020

CW: The associated Radio National interview includes the N-word and another racial epithet quoted in a historical context.
posted by zamboni at 12:12 PM on September 13, 2020

“Another thing he did very cunningly was to install benches for people to sit and read in fernery, in coolness, because at that time the Melbourne City Council was discouraging drifters and chancers from sitting on the streets, and they put spikes on the windowsills and doorsteps of buildings so they couldn’t do it.”

I want to read in fernery!
posted by Going To Maine at 3:37 PM on September 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

Thanks for this. I like the chatty paraphrasing by the biographer - "She said, 'I think you've got potential, so I'm prepared to go along with you.'"
posted by paduasoy at 4:41 AM on October 3, 2020