Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome

Written in 1933, Winter Holiday is the fourth in the Swallows and Amazons series of novels penned by Arthur Ransome. Many people will not realise that there are actually twelve books in the series of children’s books; most people recognising only the first book, Swallows and Amazons.

Winter Holiday is a return to the timeline and style of the first two books in the series, and is in essence a story about an adventure; rather than a story about a story as happened with Peter Duck.
Set in the school winter holiday, Winter Holiday does away with the boats that had been the mainstay of the previous novels. The cold winter has seen the Lake, upon which the Swallows (Walkers) and Amazons (Blacketts) sail, freeze over. This though sets up the possibility of other activities; most notably ice skating, ice sailing and signalling. The ultimate activity though is an expedition to the “North Pole” (a far corner of the lake), although the elements are a natural danger that has to be overcome.

Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome - PD-life-70

Winter Holiday also introduces the Ds, Dick and Dorothea (Dot) Callum. The Ds are perceived as intellectual townies, as compared to the practical country folk as seen in the Walkers and Blacketts. There is continued friendly competition between the children, just as there had been in the original Swallows and Amazons. Winter Holiday also sees a return to interaction with the locals and observations of everyday life around the Lake.

Those that have read other books in the Swallows and Amazons series will find no great surprises within Winter Holiday. Ransome continues to make use of his personal knowledge of the Lake District, as well as his own knowledge about winter activities (primarily picked up in trips to Russia). Indeed, Ransome goes into a great detail about many activities undertaken by the children.

The details offered do extend the book to about 350 pages, but this is broadly in line with other books in the series. The detail though does offer certain sophistication in the writing which is perhaps missing from the likes of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five or Five Find-outers. It is also this sophistication which has ensured that Ransome has a reputation of being one of the greatest children’s writers, whilst Blyton’s work is not so universally praised.

Even after eighty years, Winter Holiday remains a book enjoyed by both children and adults, and is just a good tale of adventure where the only adversary is nature.

We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea by Arthur Ransome

Arthur Ransome is regarded as one of the best English children’s authors of all time. Writing in the 1930s and 1940s, Ransome is most famous for his production of twelve children’s novels in a series known as the Swallows and Amazons series. We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea was the seventh book in this series; Ransome had discovered a style and formula which was popular with children, with little evolution since the first novel of the series, Swallows and Amazons.

The work of Arthur Ransome is most closely associated with the Lake District, but throughout the Swallows and Amazons series, Ransome did make use of other locations. In We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea, the characters go to the River Orwell on the Suffolk/Essex border. This book also focuses on the Swallows; John, Susan, Titty and Roger Walker, with little mention of the Amazons or Ds, the other children being at the Lake.

We Didn't Mean to go to Sea - Fair Use

The name of the book in essence gives a synopsis of the story’s theme. Whilst waiting for their father to return from overseas the Walker children are given permission to sail on board the Goblin, a cutter owned by Jim Brading, an older boy of university age. This permission only extends to the boat being operated in the river’s estuary. Accidents occur and the four Walker children find themselves alone onboard the Goblin, adrift in the North Sea. The novel deals with the actions taken by the Swallows and also how they cope with the situation.

As is expected of any Arthur Ransome novel, We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea is filled with details about sailing and makes use of nautical terms. Ransome makes use of his extensive knowledge of sailing, as well as his own personal knowledge of sailing onboard a cutter in the North Sea.

These details do mean that, for a children’s book, We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea is quite long at over four hundred words. However, these same details can also act as an education in nautical matters, and it is often said that Ransome is writing for his readership, rather than dumbing down for them. Written in 1937 it is possible to say We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea is dated, and of course times have changed. This though doesn’t stop this Swallows and Amazon novel from enthralling children, and bringing back countless adults to re-read the book.

Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransome

Written in 1936, three years after the previous book in the series, Pigeon Post tells of the continuing adventures of the Swallows and Amazons, the children made famous in first Swallows and Amazons novel. The sixth of twelve novels written by Arthur Ransome, Pigeon Post is a children’s novel based on the adventures of a group of children in their school holiday.

Pigeon Post sees a return for the series to the Lake District, and a reunion of all of the children; the Swallows (the four Walker children), the Amazons (the two Blacketts) and the Ds (the two Callums). With the boat, the Swallow, being out of action though, the children turn to camping rather than sailing for the holiday activity.

Finding out though Captain Flint, the Blackett’s (Amazons) uncle, has had an unsuccessful prospecting trip to South America, though pushes the children to start investigating old mining works in the Fells for gold. To keep in contact with responsible adults, the children make use of homing pigeons.

As with the other books in the series, in Pigeon Post the Swallows, Amazons and Ds are faced with the dangers that nature can pose; in this case the danger of fire, as a drought had made the Fells tinder dry. Ransome also adds potential danger in the form of a competing prospector, someone the children fear will beat them to the gold.

Despite the lack of sailing, Ransome still manages to bring a great deal of detail into Pigeon Post, not least because he had good knowledge of prospecting, as well as the detailed knowledge he had about the Lake District.

It is, of course, easy to make the comparison with Five Go Off to Camp, a 1946 novel by Enid Blyton. There are few similarities in terms of style and content between the two. Blyton was always perceived for her simplistic writing, the use of basic language and lack of depth, whilst Ransome was always renowned for the detail he put into his work. The two authors were though aiming at slightly different readership, Blyton aiming to please readers of a younger age than Ransome.

The detail offered by Arthur Ransome turns Pigeon post into a relatively long book at 380 pages long, which is one of the reasons why the books tend to be read by teenagers rather than younger children. The story is still enjoyed by many adults, as well as children.

Peter Duck by Arthur Ransome

The children’s book, Peter Duck, is the third book in the Swallows and Amazons series of books by Arthur Ransome. There are twelve books in the series, although none lived up to the fame achieved by the original title, a book which was turned into a cinema release. That though is not to say that Peter Duck is not as good as other Ransome novels, though it is certainly different from the first two books in the series; Swallows and Amazons and Swallowdale.

Peter Duck was originally written in 1932, and there is a subtle change in style with the writing of this third novel, the two previous books had been stories of supposed real life adventure. Peter Duck though is the telling of an adventure made up by the Walker and Blackett children (the Swallows and the Amazons); although as a story it reads well as a stand alone adventure.

Peter Duck Cover - Fair Use

The basic plot of Peter Duck sees the Swallows and Amazons, Captain Flint and an elderly seadog, Peter Duck, setting off in search of buried treasure. This search takes the group from Lowestoft to Crab Island in the Caribbean aboard the schooner, Wild Cat. The Swallows and Amazons though are not the only people looking for the treasure, and the children face dangerous competition in the form of Black Jake and the crew of the Viper.

In the previous adventures, the Swallows and Amazons had been faced by the dangers of the natural world; the Lake and the Moors. In Peter Duck, Ransome introduced a different type of danger in the form of Black Jake and the physical danger he posed. The natural danger had also been made slightly more fantastic with a hurricane and earthquake added to the storyline.

"Peter Duck" at Woodbridge - Chris Holifield - CC-BY-SA-2.0

The added fantasy of Peter Duck detracts little from the storyline, and Ransome continued with his writing style that gave added detail to actions undertaken by the children. These details do make the book quite long, at about 400 pages, but Ransome was probably aiming his books at early teens, so the book length is probably suitable. It is easy enough to compare Peter Duck with the adventures of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, but Ransome’s style and storyline are more sophisticated.

Peter Duck is still in print today, eighty years after its original publication, and remains a good read for both children and adults.

Copyright - First Published 14th February 2012

Coot Club by Arthur Ransome

The 1934 novel, Coot Club, is the fifth book, of twelve, written by Arthur Ransome in the Swallows and Amazons children series. The Coot Club is a continuation of the story line first established in Swallows and Amazons several years before, although there are some differences which arguably makes the novel more interesting to those who have read other books in the series.

The first major difference in the Coot Club compared to the previous books is a change of focus on the main characters. Previously, the central characters had been the Swallows (the Walker children) and the Amazons (the Blacketts); this time, the focus is on the Ds, Dick and Dorothea (Dot) Callum, characters introduced in the previous book, Winter Holiday.

Coot Club - Jonathan Cape edition - CC-BY-SA-3.0

A change in setting also occurs in Coot Club, with the Ds being found in the Norfolk Broads where they are staying with Mrs Barrable. The other children are on holiday elsewhere with their families. The Ds have a plan to learn to sail in order that they can impress the Swallows and Amazons the next time they meet.

This plan would eventually see the Ds team up with the Coot Club; a club consisting of Tom Dudgeon; Nell and Bess Farland, known as Port and Starboard; and Joe, Bill and Pete, also known as the Death and Glories). The Coot Club themselves though have problems as they try and protect a bird nesting site from the Hullabaloos, noisy holidaymakers. There is of course a return to a sailing theme, something which was absent in the previous book, with action taking part on the small yacht Teasel, and the motor cruiser Margoletta.

Coot Club is part of a series, but is equally as successful as a stand alone novel.

Swallows and Amazons - wwoods - CC-BY-SA-3.0

Arthur Ransome continues to make use of his knowledge of sailing, combined with a good knowledge of the Norfolk Broads, providing accurate descriptions of the activities undertaken by the Ds and the Coot Club. Indeed the depiction of the Norfolk Broads is even more accurate than the made up elements of the Lake District which is present in other novels.

At about 350 pages, Coot Club is relatively long for a children’s book, although Ransome’s work is more often read by teenagers than younger children. The details on offer and the sophisticated style of writing though can be challenging for inexperienced readers, but this often makes it more satisfying when the book is completed. As with other novels by Arthur Ransome, Coot Club remains a firm favourite for children and adults even after eighty years of being in print.

Copyright - First Published 14th February 2012

The origins of Paddington Bear

Bears seem to make some of the best fictional characters, and you only have to look as far as Winnie the Pooh and Rupert the Bear for prime examples. There is though another fictional bear that is as loved by many, and that is the one and only Paddington Bear.

In many ways Paddington Bear is singularly English, and yet he has universal appeal, with the stories translated for reading around the world.

Paddington Bear - Chris McKenna - CC-BY-SA-3.0

The origins of Paddington Bear can be traced back to Christmas Eve 1956, when Michael Bond, a BBC cameraman happened upon a lonely bear on the shelf of a shop in London. Bond would buy the bear for his wife, Brenda, and soon it was given the name Paddington; the bear being named for the railway station that was near to their house.

The bear would then become the focus for some short stories written by Bond; stories written for his own amusement rather than for profit. Soon though these stories had evolved into a book; a book which was well received by the publishers, William Collins & Sons.

The marmalade loving bear was now available to the public.

Having come up with the notion of Paddington Bear, Michael Bond also had to come up with the back story or origins of the fictional bear; and many elements to the life story of Paddington Bear were told in the first book, “A Bear called Paddington”.

Paddington was of course famously found on a railway platform at Paddington station, where he was found by Mr and Mrs Brown. With a sign around his neck asking “Please Look After This Bear. Thank You”, it was perhaps only natural that the Browns would take Paddington home to 32 Windsor Gardens to live.

Paddington at Paddington - Democoma - CC-BY-SA-3.0

Over time we find out a lot more about Paddington’s life before his discovery by the Browns though. We find that his name is actually Pastuso and he is an orphan. Paddington was born in Deepest, Darkest Peru were he was raised by his Aunt Lucy. Aunt Lucy though had gone to live in Lima’s Home for Retired Bears, and so it was decided that the best thing for Paddington was to seek out a new life in England. Paddington thus had stowed away on a ship bound for England, living in one of the ship’s lifeboats, and living off of marmalade sandwiches.

Thus it was that one of Britain’s best loved fictional characters came into existence, and fifty years on the sight of a bear dressed in duffle coat and old hat, a marmalade sandwich in one hand and a suitcase in another is enough to make most people crack a smile.

Copyright - First Published 23rd February 2012

The Major Characters of a Study in Scarlet

First published in 1887 a Study in Scarlet was the first of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. A complete story in its own right, it was also the story that introduced the major characters that would be found in subsequent stories.

Cover of a Study in Scarlet - David Henry Friston - PD-life-70

-Dr Watson

The first of the major characters to appear in a Study in Scarlet is Dr John Watson, an army doctor invalided out of the army, having been injured in the Anglo-Afghan War. Watson is in need of reasonable priced accommodation in London, and it is for this reason that he is introduced to Holmes who is in the same predicament. Watson is recovering for his wounds, but this relative immobility gives the doctor ample time to wonder about his housemate, which ultimately leads to him in joining Holmes at a crime scene.

Watson is quickly identified as being the voice of right and wrong, giving emotion to a tale, where Holmes would be cold and calculating. Watson might not be as smart as Holmes but offers energy instead.

Dr Watson would of course become the chronicler of Holmes’ adventures, as well as his friend, confident and often a co-conspirator.

-Sherlock Holmes

A Study in Scarlet was the work that introduced Sherlock Holmes to the world, and most people will know all about the detective. It is in a Study in Scarlet that the attributes and traits of Holmes were first identified though, traits which changed little in subsequent stories.

Holmes is a Consulting Detective, a man who other detectives and members of the public consult to solve mysteries, often without the need to leave the rooms of 221B Baker Street. Watson identifies him as a many of immense knowledge, but this knowledge is often specialised and selective, knowing the fantastic but ignoring the mundane.

Holmes is a man who does not seek the limelight, willing to let others take the credit, but rejoicing in the knowledge that he has been tested.

-Gregson and Lestrade

A Study in Scarlet centres around two murders in London, so of course the police are involved, and specifically Inspectors Gregson and Lestrade. Holmes would consider Tobias Gregson and G Lestrade to be the best of the capital’s police force, but in this story and in subsequent ones it would become apparent that they were reliant on the skills of Holmes to solve their problems. Both ambitious in their own right, Gregson and Lestrade happily take all of the credit for the solving of the murders in a Study in Scarlet and in their other cases.

The characters above are of course present in other stories, aside from a Study in Scarlet. Other important characters in the book though are central to the story and so even an overview of them is going to give away elements of the story. The below may spoil a Study in Scarlet if you have yet to read it.

-Enoch Drebber and Joseph Stangerson

Drebber was the first murder victim, found dead with the words Rache written in blood beside him. Subsequently Joseph Stangerson is also found dead in similar circumstances. Both were Mormons and had come from America together. Both were though hardly upstanding members of society.
-John Ferrier and Lucy Ferrier

The Ferriers were father and daughter who had been rescued by the Mormons in Utah, and adopted into the religion. John Ferrier has been given land and made a success of it. Lucy would fall in love with a stranger, a non-Mormon which would prove to have dramatic repercussions.

-Jefferson Hope

Jefferson Hope and Lucy Ferrier were in love, but the Mormons could not allow the marriage, and there forced separation would also see Hope travel to England, where he would become the central character of a Study in Scarlet.

When a Study in Scarlet was written it wasn’t certain that there would be further novels in which Sherlock Holmes would serve, this story therefore does much to establish the characteristics of Holmes and Watson especially. It also means that it is the one Sherlock Holmes story that has to be read to ensure that the others make perfect sense.

Copyright - First Published 10th November 2011

Biography of Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Owen is one of the most famous poets of World War I and a contemporary of Robert Graves, Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon, and there is probably no better, or memorable, war poem than “Dulce et Decorum Est”. Wilfred Owen was one of the best poets of his generation, and yet sadly the writer would not live to see his 26th birthday.

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was born on the 18th March 1893, in a house known as Plas Wilmot just outside of Oswestry in Shropshire. Owen was the oldest of four children born to Thomas and Susan Owen. As the name suggests Owen had a mixed Welsh and English ancestry. The early years of Owen’s life were fairly comfortable as the family lived in a house owned by his grandfather, and the family had income from his father’s wages as a railway worker. When Owen was just four though, his grandfather died, and the family was forced to move into lodgings in Birkenhead.

Wilfred Owen - PD-life-70

It was in Birkenhead that Owen was educated, first at the Birkenhead Institute and then at the Shrewsbury Technical School. It is often recorded that Owen was only ten when he discovered a love of writing poetry, although little remains of any early poetry from this period. Schooling obviously played a big part in his life, but Owen was also heavily influenced by his family’s strong Anglican beliefs.

In 1911, Owen left school and tried to gain entrance to the University of London. Due to his relative impoverished state, it meant that Owen was forced to take a matriculation exam to gain entrance; Owen needed to gain first-class honours, which he failed to achieve. Owen though was not done with education though and went to lessons at University College, Reading, reading both botany and Old English. To pay for his lodgings and board, Owen offered tuition at Wyle Cop School and also worked as a lay assistant to the Vicar at Dunsden. Owen went on to become a teaching assistance at the Berlitz School in Bordeaux in 1913.

Owen’s stay in France though ended in 1915 when, like so many of his generation, Owen joined the army to fight on the Western Front. Owen had previously thought of himself as a pacifist before the outbreak of the war, but he felt that it was his duty to fight alongside his fellow countrymen. As such in October 1915, Wilfred Owen enlisted in the Artists’ Rifles. Training at Hare Hall Camp in Essex was long and hard, although Owen eventually was commissioned as a second lieutenant in January 1917. Owen was then sent to join the Manchester Regiment fighting in France. On arrival in France, Owen was optimistic and, like the majority of other soldiers, believed in the propaganda that often portrayed war to be like a game of cricket, alongside the belief that it was both right and fitting to fight for your country. This propaganda itself was often propagated by many English poets of the day, people like Rupert Brooke who often painted a very rose-tinted view of war.

Soon though, Wilfred Owen was writing his own poems about his own war. Owen saw plenty of fighting and, in the summer of 1917, led his troops into battle at the Somme. Owen was badly concussed in the fighting, a shell exploding yards from him, the explosion throwing him into a shell crater, in which he lay for three days alongside the body of another officer. Owen was eventually rescued from the hole, but was diagnosed as suffering from shell shock.

Following the diagnosis, Owen was sent to the Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh to recover. There he met Siegfried Sassoon who read through his poems, Sassoon was already recognized as a leading poet of the age, and both encouraged and advised Owen. Sassoon also introduced Owen to Robert Graves, who was also a patient at the hospital. Graves also encouraged Owen to continue with his poetry.

Sassoon’s influence can be seen in the poems written at Craiglockhart, and it was in the period of convalescence that such poems as “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, “Disabled”, “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “Strange Meeting” were written. Owen though exceeded even the reputation of Sassoon and Graves, and his war poetry was full of the realism of gas and trench war on the Western Front. Convalescence continued into the Spring of 1918, when Owen undertook some work as a teacher before being posted to regimental duties at Ripon.

It is often speculated that Owen was homosexual, and having been introduced by Sassoon to many in the literary circle, it is thought that he had affairs with several male members of the circle. There is though little evidence of Owen’s sexuality as much personal correspondence did not survive after his death.

Eventually though, Owen’s period of convalescence at the hospital ended in August 1918. Although he could have stayed on home duty for the duration of the war Owen though, despite recognizing the horrors of war, believed it was his duty to return to the fight, as well as to report on the events going on at the front. Owen also knew that there were few realistic poets left fighting, as Sassoon had been placed on permanent sick leave after being shot in the head. Sassoon himself was opposed to the return of Owen to the fighting and even threatened to stop him from doing so, as a result Owen did not tell him he was going back to France.

Wilfred Owen found himself back on the Western Front in August 1918, where he promptly led his troops in storming enemy positions at Joncourt and Beaurevoir on Somme. For his leadership he was awarded the Military Cross, although the award was made after his death. On the 4th November 1918, Owen took part in the Battle of the Sambre Canal at Ors. There the troops were directed to take positions on the other side of the canal. In the lead, Owen was killed by enemy machine gun fire; he was only 25 years of age.

It is poignant to think that the war ended only seven days later. It was in fact as the bells of peace were rung across England that the news of his death was delivered to his family. Wilfred Owen’s body was laid to rest with so many of his colleagues at the Ors Communal Cemetery.
After the war, Owen’s work was not forgotten, mainly due to the patronage of Siegfried Sassoon. It was Sassoon who arranged for the “Collected Poems” of Owen to be published in 1920. The collection contained all of Owen’s thought provoking poems, including “Anthem for Doomed Youth” and “Dulce et Decorum Est”. Memorials were also created to Owen at Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Ors and Gailly.

There are many things to consider when you think of the life of Owen. Would he have become well-known if he had not met Sassoon at the Craighlockhart hospital? Would he have been as famous if he had survived the war? What could he have achieved if his life had not been cut short? These questions will never have any answers and so Wilfred Owen can only be remembered for what he achieved in his life. He was not the most prolific of poets but his work expressed the horrors of war, and brought a more realistic image of what warfare actually meant. Even today his works are still studied in many English schools, both as poetic masterpieces but also works that express the first hand feelings of a soldier fighting for his country.

Copyright - First Published 10th July 2008

Biography of Raymond Chandler

There are few authors who have become so synonymous with one genre of fiction, as Raymond Chandler has done. Think of detective fiction involving a private eye and most people will immediately think of Philip Marlowe. Raymond Chandler’s style of writing has been often imitated but no better style has ever been found for the genre.

Raymond Thornton Chandler was born on the 23rd July, 1888 in Chicago, Illinois. Raymond Chandler was the only son of Maurice Chandler, an American railroad worker and Florence Chandler. Maurice though was an alcoholic, and the two soon divorced. Upon confirmation of the divorce in 1895, Florence returned to England taking her son with her. Chandler therefore spent in childhood days in Upper Norwood in London, in a house with his mother, uncle, aunt and grandmother. Florence and Chandler were basically supported by his uncle, who was a prominent London lawyer.

School wise Chandler was predominantly educated at Dulwich College, from 1900, also in London, where he did reasonably well in what was best described as a classical education. Chandler had the opportunity to go to university but instead decided to spend time in Germany and France. Abroad he took time to study international law, but returned to England in 1907. In the same year he took on British nationality, mainly in an attempt to get a job with the Civil Service.

Chandler passed the Civil Service examination, and was one of the best in the year. This enabled him to take up a civil servant position within the Admiralty. It did not take him long though to realise that the Civil Service was not for him, and he resigned after twelve months in the role. This twelve months though had made him aware that he would prefer a literary career, and had even managed to get a poem published.

Looking to writing to make a living, Chandler turned his hand to journalism and as a reviewer, but he couldn’t find anything to interest him as much as his own writings did. His own writing was actually mildly successful and by 1912 he had managed to publish twenty seven poems, and a “The Rose Leaf Romance”, which was his first published short story.

Unhappy with his life in England, Chandler sought to return to America, something he achieved by borrowing money from his uncle. He struggled though any job to interest him, and have decided to live in Los Angeles, took jobs picking fruit and stringing tennis rackets. In search of a more steady income Chandler took a bookkeeping course by correspondence which he completed ahead of schedule. This qualification enabled him to achieve a position with a Los Angeles’s creamery.

In 1917, with the First World War raging, Raymond Chandler decided to enlist in the Canadian Army, with whom he was sent to the Western Front. After a short time in the trenches, Chandler transferred to the Royal Air Force, with whom he was training when the war came to an end. Raymond Chandler found himself discharged from the military services in 1919, from Vancouver, and promptly travelled back to Los Angeles. This time around Los Angeles was a lot kinder to him and he found work with the Dabney Oil Syndicate as a bookkeeper, after a short time working for a bank in San Francisco. The start of the 1920s proved to be a happy and a sad time for Chandler. Raymond Chandler’s mother died in September 1923, but he had found his true love at the same time.

Raymond Chandler was in love with Pearl Eugenie Pascal, also known as Cissy. It was though a union that Chandler’s mother had looked favourably on. Cissy was eighteen years older than Chandler’s thirty-six years of age, when they married in 1924. Cissy had also already been married and divorced twice beforehand. In love, Chandler also saw his career progress and by 1932 he was vice-president of the Dabney Oil Syndicate. This happy situation though soon came to an end though as Cissy fell ill and the depression started to hit the business. Chandler turned to alcohol, just as his father had done many years before. The alcohol saw him absent from work on numerous occasions and there were also rumours of liaisons with the office secretaries. Thus in 1932 Chandler was fired and became one of the increasing numbers of Americans out of work.

From a good income, Chandler and Cissy now found themselves reliant on their limited savings. With job prospects poor, Raymond Chandler turned his hand to creative writing to make a living. The most popular form of literature at the time was pulp fiction, and so Chandler taught himself to deal with the word limits and subjects required from the publishers. Raymond Chandler was a natural and in 1933, his first story “Blackmailers Don’t Shoot” was published in Black Mask magazine. Chandler also started to develop his unique style of evocative metaphors in his writings.

Chandler did fairly well in the world of pulp fiction although he was not the most prolific of writers. In a world where the likes of Lester Dent and Erle Stanley Gardner could write dozens of books each year, Chandler managed only nineteen stories between 1933 and 1939, spread over the Black Mask, Dime Detective and Detective Fiction Weekly magazines. This may have been due to Chandler trying to go beyond the boundaries of normal pulp fiction creating a depth to the characters involved.

The work though was not in vain, and in 1939 at the age of fifty one, Raymond Chandler managed to get his first novel published. This was “The Big Sleep”, and it has proved to be one of the most enduring detective novels of all time. This was the first introduction of Philip Marlowe, and the private eye soon became a cult character, although Philip Marlowe had actually appeared in an earlier short story, “Killer in the Rain”. Philip Marlowe went on to appear in six more novels; “Farewell, My Lovely” (1940), “The High Window” (1942), “The Lady in the Lake” (1943), “The Little Sister” (1949), “The Long Goodbye” (1953), and “Playback” (1958).

The success of his Philip Marlowe novels did open up new opportunities for Chandler, and in 1943 he commenced a career as a screenwriter. Despite disliking the way that Hollywood operated Chandler found himself working with Billy Wilder on the 1944 film “Double Indemnity”. The film was based on the work of James M. Cain, who loved the adaptation, although Wilder found Chandler difficult to work with. Chandler also collaborated on the screenplays for “And Now Tomorrow” (1944), “The Unseen” (1945) and “Strangers on a Train” (1951). This last film was written with Alfred Hitchcock, who ended up replacing chandler as he was unhappy with Chandler’s work.

Raymond Chandler actually only wrote one screenplay by himself which was the Oscar nominated “The Blue Dahlia” (1946), although he did have a large input on the Bogart adaptation of “The Big Sleep” in 1946. By the 1950′s though Chandler turned his back on Hollywood and instead went back to his own writings.

Despite the success of his novels, Chandler did not write faster than he had done before. In his whole life he only published seven novels and a total of twenty four short stories. The income from his work though did allow a comfortable living for Chandler and his wife. The couple moved to La Jolla, near San Diego in 1946. The climate was good for Cissy, who was suffering from fibrosis of the lungs.

His writing did not receive a huge amount of recognition in the industry, although as previously mentioned he was not the most prolific of writers. In 1946 he received a screenplay award from the Mystery Writers of America, and eight years later received another award for a novel. The same organisation made him president of themselves in 1958.

Chandler started to decline though after the death of Cissy in 1954, Cissy had been suffering from fibrosis of the lungs. Chandler and Cissy had been married for thirty years and it had a profound effect on the author. Chandler slipped into bouts of depression, and he turned to drink as he had done years before. Chandler still managed to write although the quality of his work his often said not to be as good as it had been during in peak, although it was during Cissy’s illness that “The Long Goodbye” was written.

The first few months after the death of his wife were a difficult time for Chandler and he attempted suicide on more than one occasion. Whether he seriously intended to end his life is not known though, as his most famous attempt saw him phone the police to tell them he was going to kill himself.

The complications to be found in his life were not solely alcohol and depression related and he soon found himself connected to a number of women. He travelled to England where he struck up a relationship with Jessica Tyndale and then Linda Loring. He also became linked to Sonia Orwell, who was George Orwell’s widow, and Natasha Spender, who was Stephen Spender’s wife, Spender being a well known English poet of the day. His love though seems to have been split between his secretary, Jean Fracasse and his literary agent, Helga Greene. It was Helga who did much to care for Chandler, and it was she who pushed Chandler to finish “Playback” which was published in 1958.

Raymond Chandler passed away on 26th March 1959 at his home in La Jolla. The cause of death was recorded as pneumonial peripheral vascular shock and pre-renal uremia. It was on his death bed that he proposed to Helga Greene, and she inherited his estate following his death. It was though not a clear cut inheritance though and a lawsuit ensued with Jean Fracasse. It was this lawsuit that prevented Raymond Chandler from being buried next to his deceased wife, Cissy, and instead ended up in the Potter’s Field at Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego.

Chandler left behind a great legacy in literary terms. His characters were used in subsequent books, but the impact on the whole genre of detective and crime fiction has been much more of an impact. It is no exaggeration to suggest that with Philip Marlowe a whole literary genre may have fallen by the wayside.

Copyright - First Published 14th June 2008

Biography of Michael Crichton

Michael Crichton is an American author famous for his novels, television and film work. In the latter part of the 20th century, a string of successful film adaptations of his novel ensured that Crichton became a best selling author and household name.

Crichton was born John Michael Crichton on the 23rd October 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. Michael was the first son of John Henderson Crichton, a journalist, and Zula Miller Crichton. The family, including two sisters, Kimberly and Catherine, and a younger brother, Douglas, soon moved to Roslyn, New York, where Michael grew up.

From an early age, Michael was encouraged to write and type by his father. His father’s wide ranging interests also seemed to rub off on Michael, as the son sought out new expansive knowledge. His mother also assisted in this search for information, regularly taking all of the children to the theatre and museums. Childhood illness also meant that Michael would often have to spend time indoors, time he would use in learning and conducting scientific experiments.

By the age of fourteen Crichton was an accomplished writer. Following in his father’s footsteps he had his first taste of journalism, selling his own articles to the travel section of the New York Times’.
Crichton did well enough at school to earn a place at Harvard University. Studying anthropology at the Cambridge, Massachusetts campus, Crichton was successful in achieving his BA. Crichton in fact graduated summa cum laude’ in 1964.

His undergraduate study was generally a success. Crichton though at one point did believe that one of his professors was deliberately marking his work down. Crichton proved his case, submitting a piece of work written by George Orwell, for which the professor gave him a B minus.

Michael Crichton - Jon Chase photo/Harvard News Office - CC-BY-3.0

Following his graduation Crichton went to Europe as the Henry Russell Shaw Travelling Fellow. This included a stint at the English Cambridge University, where he was the Visiting Lecturer in Anthropology.

In 1965 Crichton returned to America, and entered Harvard Medical School, training as a doctor. Crichton quickly found that his time at medical school would be more expensive than expected so he turned to writing to pay his fees. Crichton obtained his MD in 1969 before undertaking a year’s postdoctoral fellowship at the Jonas Silk Institute for Biological Studies in California.

The novels he wrote at medical school were written under pseudonyms, John Lange and Jeffery Hudson. Crichton used the pseudonyms because his novels, A Case of Need in particular, made reference to real people at Harvard Medical School. A Case of Need was his fourth novel, following on from Odds On, Scratch One and Easy Go. A Case of Need was the best received and was in fact nominated for, and won, the 1969 Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Allan Poe Award for best novel. Of course in accepting his award, his anonymity was gone.

After receiving his award, Crichton published his first novel in his own name. This novel was The Andromeda Strain, a story of a virus from outer space, which quickly became Crichton’s first bestseller. The novel was Crichton’s first to be turned into a film, as it was adapted to become a 1971 Robert Wise film. Though still a medical student, Crichton found himself to be a famous author as well.

Crichton soon found his success meant that he could shy away from a medical profession to focus full time on his writing career. Continuing to write novels under his John Lange pseudonym, Crichton also managed to write non-fiction science work, before co-authoring the novel Dealing with his brother.

The success of the Andromeda Strain as a film, introduced Crichton to the world of movies. 1972 saw Crichton write and direct his first tv-movie, called Pursuit it was based on his novel Binary. It was 1973 that saw his first big film break, as Westworld hit the big screen. Starring Yul Brynner, it was the first film to use 2D CGI. In all thirteen of his books have been turned into films, including the Jurassic Park series and Congo.

Crichton’s film interest meant that as a novel writer he has not been prolific. Crichton in fact averages a novel every three or four years. There are common themes throughout his novels though, as he shows the conflict between technology and social and moral values, Congo is a prime example showing how technology and greed, in the form of diamonds, can show what a danger science can be. The other major theme is what happens when fail proof systems suddenly fail, Jurassic Park and Westworld being key examples.

Crichton though is far from being anti-technology. He has always had a keen interest in computers and computer modelling. Crichton used computer modelling in his study of anthropology. In the 1980s he also created the graphical text game Amazon for the Atari ST and Commodore 64. In 1999 Crichton founded Time-Line Computer Entertainment Studios, a company designed to make video games.

Away from his books and film work, Crichton is best known for his television work. Crichton used his medical knowledge to create and produce the television drama ER, a series which has had worldwide success. In December 1994 ER enabled to him have a unique US record of having the Number One movie, for Jurassic Park, the Number One book, Disclosure, and Number One TV show, ER.

His work across all forms of media, has enabled Crichton to pick up a range of awards, although maybe not as many as would be expected for a bestselling author. ER won a Writers Guild of America award, a Peabody and an Emmy. Aside from A Case of Need, The Great Train Robbery won a second award from the Mystery Writers of America’s, winning as it did the 1980 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture.

Away from the award ceremonies, Crichton has also been honoured, with a Chinese dinosaur being named after him, Bienosauraus crichtoni.

Away from work Crichton has been married on five occasions and divorced on four. The five wives have been Suzanna Childs, Joan Radam, Kathy St. Johns, Anne-Marie Martin and his current wife, Sherri Alexander. Anne-Marie and Crichton have produced Crichton’s only child to date, a daughter called Taylor.

Crichton has sold in excess of 150 million copies of his novels, and many millions more have watched the film adaptations. Into his sixties now, Crichton still writes and produces bestselling work had regular intervals.

Copyright - First Published 11th March 2008

William Golding - author of Lord of the Flies

Sir William Golding is one of the best known British authors of the 20th century. Famed for his first novel, “Lord of the Flies", he went from an unknown school teacher to Nobel and Booker prize winner.

Golding was born William Gerald Golding on the Sept. 19, 1911, in the Cornish village of St. Columb Minor. Though he would spend many summer holidays in the village of his maternal grandmother, he grew up in Marlborough in Wiltshire. Golding’s father, Alec, was a science schoolmaster at Marlborough Grammar School. His mother, Mildred Cumroe, was a housewife with strong suffragette views.

William Golding - Dutch National Archives - CC-BY-SA-3.0-NL

Golding attended Marlborough Grammar School, with his elder brother Joseph. Both were strongly influenced by their father’s scientific rationalism and socialist views. This influence meant that when Golding went to Oxford University in 1930 it was to study natural sciences rather than the literature he loved. Two years into his studying at Brasenose College, Oxford, Golding reacted against his father changing his degree subject to English literature and philosophy.

Golding graduated in 1934 with a BA (Hons.). On leaving university, Golding tried his hand at writing, and even had a collection of his poems, simply called “Poems” published in 1934. He found that he could not make a living from writing though, and after unsuccessful stints as a theater producer and actor, he turned to the teaching profession.

Moving back to Wiltshire, Golding found a job teaching at Bishop Wordsworth School in Salisbury. He also found himself a wife, marrying Ann Brookfield in 1939. Golding went on to have two children with his wife, David, born in 1940, and Judith Diana, born in 1945.

The second World War had a profound impact on Golding. Joining the Royal Navy in 1940, he found himself unprepared for the harshness of war. In all Golding was to spend six years at sea, chasing the Bismarck in 1940, and supporting the invasion of Normandy in 1944. In the later years of the war Golding commanded at a landing ship, firing rockets at enemy targets on beaches. One of these attacks was at Walcheren, where 23 out of 24 landing crafts were sunk.

Golding was demobilized from the Navy, as a lieutenant, in 1946, and returned back to his teaching post in Salisbury. On his return though he found he had a new desire to write, his experiences from the war giving him much writing material.

His first novel was “Lord of the Flies,” his best known work. Originally written as a story for his young children, Golding sent it off to numerous publishers seeking to get the book in print. Following a number of rejections Faber & Faber of London eventually agreed to its publication in 1954. Championed by E.M. Forster, it soon became a bestseller, its popularity even extending to the United States.

Set on a deserted island, the tale of a community of British boys evacuated because of nuclear war. The story tells of the disintegration of society from order into cruelty and death. Translated into numerous languages, and filmed twice, the novel shows Golding’s inherent beliefs that human nature is corrupt and evil.

Similar themes of violence and the wickedness of human nature became common in his follow up works. Golding received a reputation for exposing the darkness of the soul of all humans. His stories would also end up bringing in elements of mythology and Christian symbolism in relation to modern society.

Golding quickly followed up the success of “Lord of the Flies” with his 1955 work “The Inheritors.” Golding related the story of Neanderthal man competing with Homo sapiens for survival. The following year “Pincher Martin” appeared in bookstores, and returned to Golding’s naval career, telling the tale of a sailor trying to survive in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1959 Golding completed “Free Fall” and returned to his theme of the depravity of human nature when an artist looks back at his life.
It wasn’t just novels that Golding was writing. A short story “Envoy Extraordinary” was turned by the author into the 1958 play “The Brass Butterfly.” Both told the same tale of a Greek inventor trying to be accepted at a Roman court.

Publishing success allowed Golding to finally make a career out of his writing. In 1961 Golding resigned from his teaching post at Bishop Wordsworth School, although he did undertake a further academic year at Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia. The year in Virginia was spent as a writer-in-residence.

Golding continued to write, producing collections of essays, “The Hot Gates”(1965), “A Moving Target” (1982) and “An Egyptian Journal” (1985). Golding produced a further eight pieces of work between 1964 and 1989.

In 1964 Golding had “The Spire” published. The tale of the construction of a cathedral spire, it soon reverts to the common theme of murder and treachery in society. Three years later “The Pyramid,” comprised of three stories, brought together the common location of a 1920s English town. The 1971 novel “The Scorpion God” is a collection of three short stories from prehistoric Africa, ancient Egypt and ancient Rome.

“Rites of Passage” from 1980 was probably the second most known novel from Golding. The tale of life aboard a Napoleonic era warship spawned two sequels “Close Quarters” (1987) and “Fire Down Below” (1989).

In 1979 Golding was awarded his first literary prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, for “Darkness Visible” in which he told the tale of the London blitz and the injury of one young boy.
The following year he received a Booker Prize for “Rites of Passage.” His final award was the biggest with the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. For an author who was not the most prolific he did receive his fair share of awards.

Away from literature Golding received a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 1965; he was elevated to a knighthood in 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II. He did miss out though on the Chancellorship of the University of Kent in 1970.

His spare time was taken up with music and sailing. He was also a keen archaeologist, with a strong interest in ancient Greece. Golding was also a strong believer in the existence of the Loch Ness Monster, writing papers and articles on the appearances of the monster.

Golding and his wife, Ann, moved to Perranarworthal in Cornwall in 1985, where he lived a reclusive and eccentric life. It was in the Cornish village that Golding passed away, due to heart failure, on June 19, 1993, at the age of 81. He was though returned to Bowerchalke, to be buried in the village churchyard. Ann passed away 18 months later.

Following his death, his last novel “The Double Tongue” (1995), a story of Ancient Greece and the oracle of Delphi, was published. Remembered for one novel, the rest of his writing career has been overlooked. Keen readers should look beyond “Lord of the Flies,” as there are some thought provoking novels amongst his works, many of which focus on the same issues of human nature and society.

Copyright - First Published 20th March 2008

Biography of JB Priestley

John Boynton Priestley is one of the premier English writers of the 20th century. In a writing career spanning sixty years, Priestley wrote novels, essays, plays and screenplays. Priestley was more than just a writer though; during the Second World War he turned his hand successfully to radio broadcasting. Most people will not recognise the name John Boynton Priestley and will know him better as simply JB Priestley.

Priestley was born on the 13th September 1894, in a well to do suburb of Bradford. Priestley’s father, Jonathan, was a respected school teacher. A happy childhood was made difficult for Priestley when his mother, Emma Holt, died. Priestley was only two years of age when she died. Though he was to have no memory of his mother, Priestly did consider his stepmother to be kind, gentle and loving’.
Priestely did well at the local grammar school, and could have gone onto further education. His father though wanted him to get into a trade. So at the age of sixteen Priestley entered the wool trade in Bradford. Priestley was not particularly interested in the wool industry, although it did give him the opportunity to travel across Europe. The other benefit of his employment though was that it gave him enough spare time to indulge in his love of writing. He even became a correspondent of the "Bradford Pioneer".

JB Priestley

His happy existence though was interrupted as he approached his twentieth birthday. The First World War broke out and Priestley immediately signed up. Initially he served in the 10th Battalion of the Duke of Wellington Regiment. Sent to France, Priestley took part in the Battle of Loos in September 1915. Priestley survived the fighting on the Western Front until he was injured in 1917, and promptly was sent back to England for six months recuperation.

His return to the front line was short lived though, as he was injured in German mortar and gas attack. The effects of the gas were not serious enough for him to be sent back to England. The Medical board review did mean he was removed from the fighting to serve in the Entertainers Corp.

In 1919 Priestley was released from the army. Discharge gave him the opportunity to go onto further education, an opportunity that had passed him by when he was sixteen. Priestley enrolled at Trinity hall, Cambridge. Priestley studied Modern History and Political Science but augmented his studies by writing for the "Cambridge Review". Writing also helped him pay some of his university fees, as Priestley sold articles to provincial and London newspapers.

Having graduated in 1922, Priestley moved to London, where he found employment as theatre critic for the Daily News. Priestley again supplemented his wages by writing articles for other papers, including the" Spectator", "Challenge" and "Nineteenth Century". His work was quickly recognised for its quality, and Priestley soon had a reputation as a first rate critic and essayist.

Prior to his move to London, Priestley married his first wife, Pat Tempest. Together they had two daughters. The marriage though was cut short by pat’s untimely death in 1925. The following year, Priestley married Jane Wyndham-Lewis. This second marriage lasted until a divorce decree in 1953. Three children, two daughters and a son were produced as a result of this union. Priestley’s third and final marriage began in 1953, when he married the archaeologist Jacquetta Hawkes, who has collaborated in his "Dragon’s Mouth" work. This last marriage was childless though.

Priestley and Jacquetta lived in a spectacular home in Stratford, which they called "Kissing Tree House".

JB Priestley - Wikipedia

Whilst Priestley was writing his theatre reviews, he also began to write books and critical writing. The critical writings; "The English Comic Characters" (1925), "The English Novel" (1927), "English Humour" (1928) all found acclaim cementing his reputation within the literary community.
His novels of the same time drew upon his early experiences in Bradford. With the publication of novels such as the "Good Companions" (1929), Priestley found both a public following, and also a reputation of comic rationalist. "Good Companions" was a success in the United States as well as England, and Priestley found himself picking up his first award; the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. His follow up novel, "Angel Pavement" (1930) was another success, and soon Priestley found himself a national figure.

Priestley though became concerned about social problems affecting the country. The best display of this can be seen "English Journey" (1934), where Priestley retold accounts of his travels through England.

Though Priestley continued to write novels, he soon found himself drawn to plays and dramas. He adapted "Good Companions" into a 1931 play, before writing his first theatre play, "Dangerous Corner" (1932). "Dangerous Corner" proved to be a resounding success, receiving critical acclaim that ensured a successful run in the West End. The West End success enabled Priestley to form his own theatrical company, for which he wrote more plays of all genres.

His best known play came almost fifteen years later, when "An Inspector Calls" (1946) was written. Again it received critical acclaim to such an extent that it was also adapted into a 1954 film with Alastair Sim.

Priestley was a prolific writer. In his sixty year writing career he produced some one hundred and twenty novels, essays and plays. Many of his works displayed his political views, with numerous references to socialism. In the latter years of his life though his writing dropped off to the production of novels and non-fiction work.

During the Second World War Priestley’s writing took a back seat to a new career as a radio presenter. The BBC programme, Postscripts’, was broadcast every Sunday evening and soon an estimated forty percent of the adult population was listening in. Whilst the programme went out from the summer of 1940 through until the early part of 1941, it was shelved. Members of the Conservative Party complained that Priestley was expressing left-wing views.

The cancellation of his programme did not stop Priestley expressing his political views. Priestley chaired the 1941 Committee’, a group of British politicians, writers and other people of influence pushing for more efficiency in the war effort. The Committee called for the public control of railways, mines and docks.

In 1942 many of the Committee’s members went onto form the Common Wealth Party. Again Priestley was the co-founder and chairman. The new political party pushed for Common Ownership, Vital Democracy and Morality in Politics. Priestley though soon stepped down from the position after a disagreement with one of the other co-founders, Richard Acland. Priestley could not reconcile himself with the politics of Acland.

Following the war, Priestley became more obviously political. In 1946 and 1947, Priestley acted as the British delegate to the UNESCO conferences. By the latter part of the 1950′s Priestley was writing articles that favoured a unilateral nuclear disarmament programme. His point of view proved to be very popular with the readers of the "New Statesman". As a result of the support, Priestley and Kingsley Martin, the editor of the "New Statesman", formed the CND, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Priestley received relatively few honours in his lifetime, although he was especially proud of being made a Freeman of his native Bradford in 1973. Four years later he also received the Order of Merit, the highest civilian honour of Great Britain.

Priestley passed away on the 14th August 1984, at the age of eighty-nine, at his home in Stratford.
Priestley is best remembered for his literary work. His political work during the Second World War and afterwards though should not be ignored.

Copyright - First Published 10th March 2008

Short biography of HG Wells

Herbert George Wells, now much more widely known simply as H.G.Wells, is one of the best writers England has ever produced. A more than competent writer in a number of subjects, Wells is now most well known for his science fiction work; indeed he is known as one of the “Fathers of Science Fiction,” but his non-fiction work on science and history were also best sellers in his day.

Wells was born on the Sept. 21,1866 in Bromley, Kent, and was the youngest of four children. His father, Joseph Wells, was a professional cricketer and shopkeeper, whilst his mother, Sarah Neal, was a maid. His upbringing was a poor one; the china shop his father owned was unsuccessful, whilst the wages of a cricketer were unreliable. To increase their income Sarah returned to her job as a maid, though this meant living apart from her husband and child.

HG Wells 1890 - F Hollyer - PD-life-70

Wells received a basic education at a local school, but it was through an accident that Wells developed a love of reading and writing. At the age of 7, Wells broke his leg, and whilst recuperating, he read every book that he could lay his hands on, and he was soon immersed in the writer’s imagined worlds. For a few years Wells attended the Thomas Morley Commercial Academy. Though a private school, Wells often stated that the teaching was erratic at best and focused on learning trade skills. Wells was forced to leave the school in 1880 when his father was unable to afford the school fees, a broken leg effectively ending his cricketing career.

To earn some money, Wells was forced into an apprenticeship as a draper, a cloth merchant, and whilst he disliked the work it did provide future material for his writing. Failing as a draper, he had a brief stint as a chemist, before acquiring a role as a student-teacher at Midhurst Grammar School.

In 1883, Wells won a scholarship to the Normal School of Science in London, a school which eventually became the Royal College of Science. Wells studied biology and Darwinism, and soon came under the tuition of the famous T.H. Huxley. Inspired by Huxley, Wells developed a strong interest in evolution, which again came through in his later writings. The scholarship given to him allowed him a comfortable living at the school, with no need to seek additional employment, Wells used his spare time to help found the Science School Journal and he also joined the debating society; the latter of which helped develop a socialist outlook to his political views. Wells’ time at university though was cut short in 1887 when his scholarship was stopped as Wells failed his geology exams.
Leaving school without any income could have proved tough, though his aunt came to his rescue, allowing him to live in her house. To provide an income, Wells began tutoring, a job which allowed him time to study for his Zoology BSc from the University of London, which he gained in 1890. Tutoring also allowed him to write, and in 1891 his first essay was published.

Wells was married for the first time in 1891, when he married his cousin, Isabel Mary Wells. This marriage lasted less than four years, as Wells left Isabel for one of the students he had been tutoring, Amy Catherine Robbins. Wells married Amy in 1895, and they had two sons, George Philip, born in 1901, and Frank Richard, born in 1903. Wells though was not known for his faithfulness, and was known to have had a number of affairs, two of which resulted in further offspring. The writer Amber Reeves, produced Wells a daughter, Anna-Jane, in 1909, whilst the feminist novelist Rebecca West, gave birth to Anthony West in 1914.

HG Wells 1943 - Yousuf Karshn -

Wells had started to write some short stories, in addition to his science essays, but it was the publication of his first novel in 1895, that saw his writing career commence. 1895 saw the publication of “The Time Machine” and “The Island of Dr. Moreau,” both classed as scientific romances.
Wells soon became the most successful writer of the day, with his fame also spreading across the Atlantic to the United States. In America “The War of the Worlds” (1898) and “First Man on the Moon” (1901) were both serialised in Cosmopolitan magazine, as well as other work appearing in Collier’s Magazine and the Saturday Evening Post.

Over time, his writing deviated from science fiction to novels of social commentary, although there was a large amount of prophecy or futuristic input. Whilst it is mostly his science fiction novels that are read today, his historic non-fiction work was equally well received.

The “Outline of History” published in 1920, was a best-selling work, and did a lot to popularise history, which was followed in 1922 by the abridged work “A Short History of Time.” Due to the popularity of Wells, both have recently been republished.

At the same time has his history work, Wells also wrote about social topics, including the 1933 “The Shape of Things to Come” and “The New World Order.” Wells was a lifelong socialist, as well as an advocate for women’s rights; in fact, Wells briefly joined the Fabian Society, although he was seen as too radical by one of the founders, George Bernard Shaw. Unlike many socialists, he wasn’t a pacifist, and writing during World War I, wrote on the side of war. Ironically, many of his early science fiction works had predicted the invention of the tank.

After the First World War, Wells pushed for the formation of the League of Nations, although he quickly became disillusioned with it, just as he became disillusioned with the Russian Communist revolution. Wells was appalled by the outbreak of the Second World War, and his last book, “Mind at the End of its Tether” (1945), advocates the idea that humanity should be replaced by another species.

Due to Wells’ outspoken beliefs on a number of issues, and the popularity of his fiction work, meant that throughout his writing life, Wells was in demand by the popular media, to comment and contribute to newspapers and magazines.

One of the most famous facts about Wells’ though has nothing directly to do with his writing; Wells’ name appeared on the same Nazi death list as Winston Churchill. In the event of England being invaded by Germany, Wells would have been shot, partly for being a socialist and party for overseeing the expulsion of the German literary body from the International group in 1934, due to their racist views.

Having lived in London throughout the Second World War, Wells died on Aug. 13, 1946, shortly before his 80th birthday. It should be noted there is no epitaph stating “I told you so. You damned fools,” despite Wells’ wishes, as Wells was cremated and the ashes scattered from an aeroplane.
Wells has transcended the literary world, and he has appeared as a character in science fiction programmes, most notably with several appearances in “Doctor Who” and “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” His influence on Science Fiction is still apparent today, with recent Hollywood versions of “The Time Machine” and “War of the Worlds.”

The “War of the Worlds” remains one of the favourite science fictions books of all time. There are of course inaccuracies in the work, but there is a depth to characters and descriptions that ensures the work is as readable today as it was a hundred years ago.

Copyright - First Published 25th February 2008

The Most Famous Science Fiction Characters

The twentieth century saw an explosion in the whole science fiction genre, and with this explosion there was a whole new range of heroes and villains born. Comic book, pulp fiction and science fiction novel writers managed to create characters that gripped the reader’s imagination. The heroes were strong characters with extraordinary powers, fighting against adversaries that were clearly evil. For every good guy there was a bad guy to battle, and a bad guy who’s powers were a clear threat to the hero.

With the prevalence of science fiction, spreading into every sort of media, many characters are known by large proportions of the population. Therefore many people could provide a list of their favourite characters or those they believe to be the most famous. My selection appears below, and I hope that you agree with at least a few of them.

DOCTOR WHO 

The Doctor and The Master

My favourite science fiction character is the Doctor’ from Doctor Who. Created by the BBC some forty-five years ago, the Doctor has spread from the small screen, to radio, to film and to some two hundred books. The Time Lord from Gallifrey is now in his tenth regeneration and is nine hundred years old. Despite his age, the Doctor still travels through time and space with a succession of companions in the TARDIS. Regarded as do-gooder’ by his enemies, the Doctor continues to stick his nose into historical events, gets to meet famous people and fights a succession of aliens. The special effects have improved greatly over the year, although generations of children have hidden behind their sofas as the Daleks or Cybermen appeared on their television screen.

The Master is almost the total opposite of the Doctor, and is a reoccurring adversary for the Doctor to fight. The Master is the greatest individual enemy that the Doctor has yet faced. The Master is a renegade Time Lord, and in many aspects is the classic villain. The Master is shown to be a genius, a maniac and a man with a huge ego and a lust for power. The Doctor and The Master were once class mates, and developed a number of the same skills, including hypnosis. If anything it shows that there is perhaps very little difference between a hero and a villain.

The Doctor and Amy Pond - Stephen Broadhurst - CC-BY-2.0

STAR TREK 

Captain Kirk and the Klingons

James Tiberius Kirk, Star Fleet captain and admiral. I am not sure that you can think of science fiction on television without William Shatner springing to mind. As the lead character in the original Star Trek series, Kirk captained the Enterprise in 80 episodes and 7 films. Kirk’s mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.’ This of course brings him into weekly contact with aliens, including his main adversaries, the Klingons.

Created by Gene Roddenberry in 1964, to rival Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, Kirk in the official series has been killed off, brought back and then killed off again. Shatner himself though has resurrected the character himself in a series of his own novels.

Kirk rarely faces an individual enemy, as he normally annoys a whole species. Throughout the original series, the Klingons appeared as the main opposition to Kirk and Star Fleet. A warrior race from Qo’noS (Kronos), they originally fought against the Federation. It is a possibility that they just fought Kirk, as after his demise they joined the Federation to fight against the Dominion. As an alien race the Klingons have a cult following.

Captain Kirk - PD US no notice

FLASH GORDON 

Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless

The stories of Flash are a classic tale of good versus evil. Flash leaves earth with a couple of companions, Dale Arden and Dr Zarko. Travelling to the planet of Mongo, there are years of adventure as the companions travel through the Forest world of Arboria; the ice kingdom of Frigia; the jungle kingdom of Tropica; the undersea kingdom of the Shark Men; and the flying city of the Hawkmen.

Created originally for the comic by Alex Raymond, the story of Flash spreads from the comic book, to radio and television series, animated series and also a number of appearances on the big screen. The 1934 comic strip hero has recently been resurrected for a US television series. I would suggest ignoring the 1980′s film, although in itself it quite entertaining for being so bad, but I would seriously recommend the soundtrack, as it written and performed by Queen.

Flash faced one constant adversary in Ming the Merciless. The evil emperor of Mongo is a dictator, who uses his army and technology to keep the population in servitude. As Flash battles Ming, he is eventually overthrown although not killed. As a new leadership is put in place on Mongo, Ming fights back.

Ming the Merciless - PD US not reneewed

X-MEN 

Professor Xavier and Magneto

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Professor Charles Xavier, or Professor X, was the leader of the X-men. A paraplegic, his mutant abilities compensate for his lack of movement. Xavier is a high level telepath, as well as a scientific genius, and leading authority on genetics and mutation. Xavier seeks a peaceful co-existence between mutants and humans. With the renegade mutants willing to cause trouble, Xavier creates the School for Gifted Youngsters, which teaches but also moulds X-men to fight against Magneto and his Evil Mutants.

Magneto is a villain that it is often hard to hate. One of the most powerful of all mutants he is supervillain, anti-hero and hero at various stages of his life. Initially he is the supervillain fighting the X-men, and using terrorism to improve life for mutants. His motives though are relatively pure, having survived Auschwitz; Magneto wants to ensure that mutants do not face the same kind of holocaust

HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY 

Arthur Dent and the White Mice

Arthur Dent may not necessarily be famous but he is a cult character. Arthur was the human lead from Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, originally a 26 episode 1970′s BBC radio production, Arthur soon became the lead character in a series of 5 books, a television series and finally a Hollywood movie.

Arthur escapes the destruction of earth, dressed in his dressing gown with the help of Ford Prefect, an alien from Betelgeuse and not Guildford as he claimed. Travelling through space with Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Marvin the paranoid android, Arthur has a series of adventures in time and space, where everything seems to be a result of the spaceship improbability drive. It is far too complex to explain, but if you get the chance take the time to read the trilogy of five’, all will become clear, well at least as clear as a cup of tea.

Arthur doesn’t really have enemies, he is chased by the Vogons, but he is mainly fleeing the attention of Frankie and Benjy Mouse. Part of a pan-dimensional race, Frankie and Benjy are after Arthur’s brain to obtain the question to the ultimate answer of 42.

The list is of course in no way exhaustive, and everybody will have their own opinion on whether those listed are famous at all, or how they relate to characters from other series. There is so many television series, comics or novels that each person will have to make their own minds up.

Copyright - First Published 22nd February 2008

The Most Famous Science Fiction Authors

How can you measure the fame of one person? Is someone famous or just well-known? Within the world of Science Fiction literature there are five authors who I would say are more widely known than their counterparts, although this may not make them famous. At the peak of their profession, I would argue that HG Wells, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein and Arthur C Clarke are the most famous.

HG (Herbert George) Wells is now perceived to be one of the fathers of science fiction. The 19th and 20th century English writer, started by writing factual science essay to earn a small living to supplement the wages of a tutor. Wells soon found that there was more money to be made in the writing of short stories for magazines, and by 1895 he was well established as a contributor to a number of popular magazines. 1895 was the year, though, that his career started to take off, as it was the year that "The Time Machine"; and "The Island of Dr. Moreau" were first published. Wells soon had a large popular following for his scientific romances’ and he became one of the most successful writers of his time. There was further success with the novels of “The Invisible Man” (1897) and “The War of the Worlds” (1898).

HG Wells - F Hollyer - PD-life-70

Wells’ science fiction novels are as readable today as they were when they were first published. There may be flaws in the science behind the novels, but Wells has managed to transcend his own work to become a science fiction character himself. Wells, as a character, has appeared in episodes of Doctor Who and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. His influence on science fiction is still felt today, as he influences the work of new authors, as well as the continued production of Hollywood films based on his novels.

Jules Gabriel Verne, shares the accolade of founding father of science fiction with Wells, although during their lifetimes they were fierce rivals. At an initial disadvantage of a more limited reading base, as his novels were written in French, his worldwide popularity grew as his works were translated. His works have had a better reputation based on the accuracy of the science involved, but they are mostly recognised of being more prophetic than Wells’. In fact his work made prophecies about modern Paris and even air conditioning for cars.

Jules Verne - Nadar (1820-1910) - PD-life-70

Verne would write about air, space and underwater travel and exploration decades before they became feasible. Verne wrote many classics; “Journey to the Centre of the Earth” (1864), “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea” (1870) and “The Mysterious Island” (1874) are all science fiction classics. Verne is perhaps done less well than Wells in the modern popular media, although many of his books were turned into films in the 1950′s and 1960′s there has been less Hollywood interest in recent years.

Within modern science fiction writing, Isaac Asimov is considered to be one of the “big three”. The Russian born, American science fiction writer is acknowledged as one of the best, and one of the most prolific writing more than 450 books and some 90,000 letters, short-stories and postcards. Asimov was not just a fiction writer though and in his own right was a well known writer of non-fiction science and history books.

Isaac Asimov - Phillip Leonian - PD Library of Congress

Within the genre of science fiction, Asimov is best known for his series, “Foundation”, “Galactic Empire” and “Robot”. The last of which was recently made into a film “I,Robot” with Will Smith. In writing his fiction work, Asimov claimed every major science fiction award going. In addition to his accuracy in terms of science, Asimov is best known for his “Three Laws of Robotics”;

• A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
• A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
• A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Sir Arthur C (Charles) Clarke is the best known living science fiction writer. The British writer has written over 75 books as well as hundreds of short stories, and is perhaps most well known for the Odyssey series. “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1951) has been acclaimed as one of the best science fiction novels and films ever, although the sequels; “2010: Odyssey Two” (1982), “2061: Odyssey Three” (1988), “3001: The Final Odyssey” (1997), are less well known. “Childhood’s End” (1953), another of his early works, has been acclaimed as one of the premier pieces of science fiction ever written.

Arthur C Clarke - Amy Marash - Released into PD

Clarke is another member of the “Big Three”, and is often credited with the inception of geostationary communications satellites, although I prefer to think of him as one of the contributors to “Eagle” and “Dan Dare”.

The last of the “Big Three’, Robert A (Anson) Heinlein, the American writer, was the best selling of his generation. Heinlein is credited with setting the standards of plausibility thus raising the level of science fiction writing. In individual terms, his novels are not as well known as his rivals, although “Starship Trooper” (1959) was turned into a 1990′s movie. Though not as well known, they are of critical acclaim and in the 1950′s and 1960′s Heinlein won four Hugo Awards for best science fiction novels.

Robert A Heinlein - PD US Fed Govt

In improving the standards of science fiction, with science and engineering being within the realms of possibility, Heinlein managed to break modern science fiction into mainstream literature.

There is any number of writers that could be added to this list, and some of my favourites are outside of those previously listed. Russell T Davies is one of my favourites due to his success with Doctor
Who, work that includes novels although he was not the Doctor’s original creator. Douglas Adams, with his “Trilogy of Five, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" brings a lighter side to the world of science fiction. Finally Frank Herbert brings one of the best series of works in his “Dune” novels. I am sure every fan of science fiction could make their own list of famous writers, and within the list I am sure there would be many of my favourite.

Copyright - First Published 22nd February 2008