This thesis, comprising a creative work, the novel "Too Long a Night," and an exegesis, investigates the precolonial traditional society of Nigeria from the microscopic world-view of the Yoruba people. Yorubaland, with its own culture, tradition, literature, world-view and language existed well before Nigeria fell under colonial rule. The administration of traditional Yoruba society included the Baálè or an Oba at the apex, the Ogboni cult as the judicial arm in many kingdoms, and the elders' council comprising compound heads and the other titled men. As common with any society, while this system functioned well, it was fraught with many imperfections as epitomised by certain traditional institutions that were, and still are, major custodians of the people's culture and traditions. These traditional institutions embody both the beauty and ugliness of traditional society, which have spilled over to the contemporary society. Therefore, this thesis is a recreation of the past for the contemporary Nigerian society to mirror itself and see if, indeed, these imperfections are a spill-over from the traditional past or they are colonial or postcolonial phenomena.

This thesis uses book history methods and a cultural materialist approach to examine the social relations and cultural practices of publishers' editing at Sydney publishers Angus & Robertson in the mid twentieth century. 'Invisible mending' as a metaphor for publishers' editing was well known in the twentieth century and the thesis asks in what ways the metaphor sheds light on publishers' editing in this time and place. The thesis makes visible editors and editing – both by examining closely particular editors and their practice, and by showing the critical role publishers' editing played in cultural production in Australia in the middle years of the last century.