Kin

About this book

This book considers the issue of typicality in biography. Biography is the single largest genre of history written, published and read. Yet what can a study of the one tell us about the many? Biographers often acknowledge the tension in selecting the 'obviously significant' subject rather than one who is 'representative', yet they rarely consider the problems arising from using a single case. They side-step the question: how typical is my subject of her or his class, profession or gender? Melanie Nolan focuses on this issue of variance within the New Zealand working class by examining the life, culture and identity of Jack McCullough, Workers' Representative on the Arbitration Court, 1908-1921, and his four siblings-Margaret, Jim, Sarah and Frank.