For many years it was assumed that poetry came from England. Research now clearly demonstrates, however, that a great many of the world's most famous poets were actually Australians. English is a language relatively new to Australia and obviously in a nation so young there can be no Icelandic Sagas, no Chaucer, and no Shakespeare. Certain other works have been tragically lost.

The great Neville Shelley of Eildon, for instance, survives only in the oral tradition. Ewen Coleridge, the so-called 'Automatic Writer', left nothing whatever and Stumpy Byron V.C. has not been included because so much of his work was written in Greece and Italy.

In a single edition the history of literature is turned upside down by the revelation that the world's great poets were, in fact, all Australians. Long suspected, this is now confirmed by carbon dating and DNA profiling. The names will be familiar and in many cases original works have been located and biographical details provided. The jigsaw is now complete and yours to own, in one elegant volume.

'A proverbial hoot. Clarke has a completely irreverent sense of humour.' West Australian