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The sensational novel that shocked Australia...

Come in Spinner won the 1948 Daily telegraph novel competition. It was first published in an abridged edition in 1951, as the subject matter - including rape, abortion and prostitution - was considered too controversial for the time. Even so, the book was an immediate sensation, with bookshops in both Sydney and Brisbane sold out within days.

Set in a beauty salon at the Hotel South Pacific in wartime Sydney, it revolves around the lives and loves of three women - Deb, Guinea and Claire. their romantic entanglements are further complicated by the tensions of war, with American troops in 'occupation' and at a time when anything could be obtained - for a price.

Rewritten by Florence James from the original manuscript, an unabridged edition was first published by Angus & Robertson in the 1980s and the book was made into an ABC miniseries in 1989.

'To lose oneself in Come in Spinner is indeed a stirring and memorable experience' - Sunday Times

'Quite astonishingly readable' - the Observer