Background

Malcolm John Turnbull was born on September 5, 1952, in Devonport, Tasmania, Australia. He was a son of Raymond and Patricia Turnbull.

Education

In 1994 Malcolm John Turnbull received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Deakin University.

Career

In his first book, Elusion Aforethought: The Life and Writing of Anthony Berkeley Cox, Malcolm John Turnbull examines the life and literary achievements of a writer who was described by Denise Johnson in Library Journal as "a Golden Age detective novelist." Cox produced fiction under his own name as well as the pseudonyms Anthony Berkeley and Francis lies, and he prized his anonymity.

Turnbull is also the author of Victims or Villains: Jewish Images in Classic English Detective Fiction, which examines anti-Semitic stereotypes and analyzes the characterizations of Jews in works by such writers as Agatha Christie, Anthony Berkeley Cox, and Dorothy Sayers.

He also published Safe Haven (1999), A Time to Keep (with Werner Graff & Eliot Baskin, 2005), and Onemda 'With Loving Care' (2006). Other publications include contributions to the international journals CADS and Clues, the Australian Dictionary of Biography, the Companion to Tasmanian History, and the multi-authored monographs A Few from Afar, Carlton: a History and The Australian Jewish Experience.

He was a Victorian editor for the Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal from 1995 to 2000. He had research interests in the Australian Jewish community, classic English crime-writing – and the 60s folk revival. A veteran of the early Tasmanian folk scene Malcolm has also published extensively on the Australian folk revival in the magazines Trad & Now, Australian Tradition, Drumbeat, In-folks, Town Crier, Folk Rag, Cornstalk Gazette and Australian Music Museum. As a performer, he sings an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary material with a specific emphasis on neglected songs by Tasmanian writers.

Achievements

• Malcolm John Turnbull is best known as the author of Elusion Aforethought. This book was a nominee for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Victims or Villains: Jewish Images in Classic English Detective Fiction

    (Portrayed as dubious moneylenders, underworld operatives,...)

    1998
  • Elusion Aforethought: The Life and Writing of Anthony Berkeley Cox 1996
  • Safe Haven: Records of the Jewish Experience in Australia 1999
  • A Time to Keep: The Story of Temple Beth Israel 1930 To 2005 2005

Politics

Malcolm John Turnbull described himself as a socialist.

Views

As a folk music performer, Malcolm John Turnbull was inspired by Odetta, Theo Bikel, Joan Baez, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Donovan, Pete Seeger, and Cat Stevens.

Interests

• book collecting, singing

• Music & Bands

  Odetta, Joan Baez, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Donovan Philips Leitch, Pete Seeger, Cat Stevens

Connections

Father:

Raymond Turnbull

Mother:

Patricia Turnbull

References

• Contemporary Authors
  2010