{"product_id":"2026200013336-secondhand-the-real-john-wren","title":"The Real John Wren","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Yellowed\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBehind the legend of one of Australia's most controversial and enigmatic figures lies a story far more compelling than fiction — The Real John Wren by Hugh Buggy strips away the myth to present the man himself: John Wren, the Melbourne-born working-class entrepreneur who rose from the Collingwood slums to become a powerful political operator, gambling kingpin, and philanthropist whose influence stretched across the social and political fabric of early twentieth-century Australia. Buggy, a seasoned Australian journalist who knew Wren personally, chronicles the tycoon's remarkable ascent through a society riddled with class tension, religious loyalty, and backroom deals, painting a portrait that is by turns admiring and unflinching. The biography stands as a direct counter-narrative to Frank Hardy's fictionalised — and deeply unflattering — portrayal in Power Without Glory, restoring nuance and complexity to a figure too often reduced to caricature. Written with the authority of first-hand knowledge and the precision of a veteran reporter, Buggy's account illuminates the contradictions of a man who was simultaneously feared and revered, a devout Catholic and a gambling baron, a populist hero and a shadowy power broker. For anyone seeking to understand the true anatomy of Australian power in the industrial age, this portrait of Wren raises as many questions as it answers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49203371770075,"sku":"2026200013336-SECONDHAND","price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/88832d7d-5cd4-41e2-b4bb-a9b778b9a551.png?v=1788148027","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200013336-secondhand-the-real-john-wren","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}