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 Unspeakable Skipton
The Unspeakable Skipton
Described by the New York Times upon her death as ‘one of Britain’s best-known novelists’, delve into the sparkling and satirical world of Pamela Hansford Johnson with this wickedly funny tragicomedy about a destitute English author living in Bruges.
‘A maliciously witty account of literary skulduggery and loft pretensions.’ TLS
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Daniel Skipton is a literary genius – at least, that’s what he’ll tell you.
A tortured artist living in Bruges on money donated by others (a distant relative, the daughter of his landlady, his exasperated, long-suffering publishers), he dreams of the time his talent will once again be truly appreciated and spends days working on his masterpiece.
Between charitable bequests, he preys on tourists, accepting hospitality and tricking them into parting with their money; and when an Italian aristocrat arrives, he recognises an opportunity to earn even more.
But is it time for the conman to be conned?
A wickedly funny novel, and one in which you will always find yourself on the side of the undeniably unspeakable Skipton.
‘Very funny’ Independent
‘If this is not a great book, then I don’t know what greatness is.’ Edith Sitwell