Revived Writers
Fairly often a well-deserving writer is rediscovered by readers, publishers, or reviewers/critics. The neglected books are brought back into print, retrospective appreciations are written (Dawn Powell) or a sudden rush of affection overwhelms the writer late in life (Barbara Pym). Sometimes the writer’s works are whacked with the magic wand of Hollywood, and the writer becomes much more famous and widely read than in his or her mortality (Philip K. Dick).
Recently I was struck by the handsome editions that a British publisher, Hodder Books, brought out for Pamela Hansford Johnson’s novels. Johnson (1912-1981, CBE, FRSL) was a prolific and multi-talented writer who was the guest of many universities in the US and celebrated in her day. Her second husband, C.P. Snow, had an even higher profile as a writer bridging the sciences and the humanities and wrote successfully and abundantly, including an epic 11-volume series, Strangers and Brothers. Johnson is now back in print. Snow is out of print entirely in the US. Publishers — and booksellers — are mysterious in their giving and taking away. It pays to stay alert to what is revived.
On this page, beginning in the pandemic days of Spring 2020, we will hunt around for revived fiction and its writers. We begin with Johnson. I look forward to listing other authors I carry: Nancy Mitford, Georgette Heyer, Eugenia Price, Sylvia Townsend Warner, and others. (Why are all the names I am thinking of women writers? No idea.)
Enjoy! Experiment! And come back to check on new listings.
The Amazing Judgment and Mr. Laxworthy's Adventures
The Amazing Judgment and Mr. Laxworthy's Adventures
THE AMAZING JUDGMENT The world-weary Lord Hildyard, Marquis of Esholt, is on a yachting tour with a group of friends, including his kept lover, Pauline Owston. When Hildyard spies an apparently uninhabited island, he slips off the ship in search of adventure. What he finds is the exotic woman-child, Bertha, and her guardian, Stanley Owston, estranged husband of Pauline. Before the yachting party returns, Hildyard discovers himself in love with Bertha, and vows to return for her. But when the Owstons are dramatically reunited, Stanley confesses to his wife that Bertha is the daughter whom she has not seen in twelve years. Will Hildyard ever find the love he seeks, or is his love for Bertha now doomed beyond hope?
MR. LAXWORTHY S ADVENTURES For Mr. John T. Laxworthy, detection is a serious game, and all of Europe is his playground. In a series of 12 adventures, Laxworthy travels with a well-padded wallet and two sporting companions, following only his instincts and the scent of money to be made. Along the way, he nabs an international burglar, exposes a cross-dressing murderer, foils a plot to steal battleship plans, and even helps a respected criminal opponent recover 40,000 pounds owed him by an unscrupulous London banker. Laxworthy is an amateur sleuth and an adventurer: urbane, clever, and oh-so-British. You ll cheer him on as he always gets his man and, in the end, even his woman.