“Her husband was deeply hurt when she published her novel…”

“The author’s father was disgusted by what he had written…”

“His wife was furious…” etc.

Is information like this ever more than gossip? Can we learn anything about literature by reflecting on the responses of the writer’s family and loved ones? What Christina Stead’s partner thought about *Letty Fox, Her Luck*, for example, where the writer presented his daughter by a previous marriage as a promiscuous sexual opportunist. Or how Emma Hardy reacted when she saw her sexual problems discussed in the pages of *Jude the Obscure*. Or the embarrassment of Faulkner’s parents when he published *Soldiers’ Pay*.