A&U acquires Flynn biography

Allen & Unwin (A&U) has acquired world rights to Errol Flynn, Patricia A O’Brien’s biography of Australian-born Hollywood actor Errol Flynn, known for his swashbuckling roles and controversial off-screen life.

This biography – the first complete account of his life, according to the publisher – traces Flynn’s journey from “[an] unusual childhood in Tasmania and damaging family secrets, to his rapid rise to fame in blockbuster films like Captain Blood and Robin Hood, and his tragic death at just 50.”

Apart from appearing in some 60 films, Flynn also published two novels, Beam Ends (1937) and Showdown (1946). His ghost-written autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways was first published in 1960.

O’Brien, a historian and commentator on Australia and Oceania, is an associate professor at Georgetown University and honorary associate professor in the Department of Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University. Her books include Tautai: Sāmoa, World History and the Life and Ta’isi O.F. Nelson (Huia, 2017) and The Pacific Muse: Exotic Femininity and the Colonial Pacific (University of Washington Press, 2006).

O’Brien said, “Flynn embodied a masculine ideal and captivated America during times of great turmoil, straddling cultural fault lines that continue to tear the United States apart. By using new sources, asking fresh questions, and writing from Australian and Pacific perspectives, this book goes way beyond an insular retelling of Hollywood history.

“At the height of his fame Flynn was tried for rape, a media sensation that tore back the curtain on some of Hollywood’s dirtiest secrets, such as the extent of the sexual trafficking of underage girls.”

A&U publisher Elizabeth Weiss said, “This is both a revealing and intimate view of Flynn, and for the first time it gives serious attention to the many women in his life.”

A&U has scheduled Errol Flynn: The True Story of Australia’s Hollywood Icon for release in April 2026.

Category: Local news Rights and acquisitions