Hugh Walpole

Gebundenes Buch

The Collected Supernatural and Weird Fiction of Hugh Walpole-Volume 1

One Novel 'The Old Ladies' and Fifteen Short Stories of the Strange and Unusual Including 'The White Cat', 'Lizzie Rand', 'Mrs. Porter and Miss Allen', 'The Tiger' and 'The Twisted Inn'

Beschreibung

The first volume of the works of a literary master of strange fiction Sir Hugh Walpole was one of the most popular and prolific British authors of the first half of the 20th century. After the publication of his first novel, 'The Wooden Horse', in 1909 he produced one significant work each year including the acclaimed 'Herries' series. Born in New Zealand in 1884, the son of an Anglican clergyman, Walpole was committed to becoming a writer and encouraged in his ambition by Henry James and Arnold Bennett. A. C. Benson was also a mentor and early influence upon his writing. Despite his acknowledged talent as a storyteller, Walpole's work has been largely ignored since his death in 1941, in part because he was savagely lampooned by Somerset Maugham's fictional characterisation of him in 'Cakes & Ale'. Walpole, in keeping with many of his contemporaries, wrote in several genres of fiction and among his thirty-six novels, five volumes of short stories and two plays are historical, juvenile and even detective stories. His associations with A. C. Benson, Henry James, H. G. Wells and the fact that Horace Walpole (author of the first gothic novel, 'The Castle of Otranto') and Richard Harris Barham (author of the 'Ingoldsby Legends') were both among his ancestors surely stimulated his taste for gothic and macabre fiction. In fact, during the 1930s Walpole edited two well received anthologies of 'creepy stories' in which some of his own material appeared. His own literary excursions into the world of the ghostly and bizarre, which remain highly regarded by aficionados of supernatural fiction, include several novels and a substantial number of short stories all of which are included in this three volume Leonaur collected edition. Included in this first volume are the novel 'The Old Ladies' and fifteen short stories of the strange and unusual including 'The White Cat', 'Lizzie Rand', 'Mrs. Porter and Miss Allen', 'The Tiger' and 'The Twisted Inn'. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

Autor

Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole (1884 - 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among those who encouraged him were the authors Henry James and Arnold Bennett. His skill at scene-setting and vivid plots, as well as his high profile as a lecturer, brought him a large readership in the United Kingdom and North America. He was a best-selling author in the 1920s and 1930s but has been largely neglected since his death. After his first novel, The Wooden Horse, in 1909, Walpole wrote prolifically, producing at least one book every year. He was a spontaneous story-teller, writing quickly to get all his ideas on paper, seldom revising. His first novel to achieve major success was his third, Mr Perrin and Mr Traill, a tragicomic story of a fatal clash between two schoolmasters. During the First World War he served in the Red Cross on the Russian-Austrian front and worked in British propaganda in Petrograd and London. In the 1920s and 1930s Walpole was much in demand not only as a novelist but also as a lecturer on literature, making four exceptionally well-paid tours of North America. Having as a young man eagerly sought the support of established authors, he was in his later years a generous sponsor of many younger writers. He was a patron of the visual arts and bequeathed a substantial legacy of paintings to the Tate Gallery and other British institutions. Walpole's output was large and varied. Between 1909 and 1941 he wrote thirty-six novels, five volumes of short stories, two original plays and three volumes of memoirs. His range included disturbing studies of the macabre, children's stories and historical fiction, most notably his Herries Chronicle series, set in the Lake District. He worked in Hollywood writing scenarios for two Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films in the 1930s and played a cameo in the 1935 version of David Copperfield.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Oakpast
• Seitenzahl: 340
• Erscheinungstermin: 11. Juni 2018
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 222mm x 145mm x 24mm
• Gewicht: 624g
• ISBN-13: 9781782827023
• ISBN-10: 1782827021
• Artikelnr.: 52923530