Fancies I Dare Not Speak: The Hidden Verse of R. G. Menzies

Sir Robert Menzies was arguably Australia’s greatest political orator, but how did he develop his magnificent way with words?

The language of the ’Forgotten People’ has etched itself permanently in the Australian political lexicon, but few realise that Menzies learned to write speeches in part by writing verse. This new collection brings to light Menzies’s hidden artistry, from childhood rhymes about football to witty parodies of his political rivals. In doing so, it offers a new window into the great man, and the early twentieth century Australia in which he thrived.

’Fancies I Dare Not Speak: The Hidden Verse of R. G. Menzies’ features prose written by Robert Menzies, sourced from the Menzies Collection at the University of Melbourne, the Menzies Papers in the National Library of Australia, private family papers, and other published materials. Some poems are short and heartfelt, for friends and family. Others are long, brimming with rhythmic commentary to be read aloud to an attentive audience. They all offer a rare glimpse into a moment in time otherwise lost, where Menzies’s thoughts were so overpowering, they could only be expressed through the art of poetry.

This collection was edited by Georgina Downer, William Cook, and Victoria Hronas with an introduction by Dr Damien Freeman.

This book was previously published as Collected Poems and Other Writings by R. G. Menzies.