Herbert E. Stover

The Dominant Idea and Other Stories

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Herbert Stover was best known for his full-length historical novels full of action and historic figures, always with a twist of romance. However, before he sold his first novel to a New York publishing house after World War II, Stover struggled as an upstart writer of pulp fiction short stories, the vast majority of which were written in the 1920s and early 1930s. Rejection after rejection came back in the mail, and Stover, now in the Depression, turned his focus to his education career. The letters and stories were put away, largely forgotten. After Stover's death, his property exchanged hands. One day, in the early 2000s, the current owner was exploring the old barn on the property and found an old wooden bucket in the rafters. It contained pictures, letters, and typed stories that had been returned to Stover. But, the gentleman did nothing with these stories until the Fall of 2022, when author Guy Graybill and publisher Lawrence Knorr visited to take pictures of the former Stover homestead. The bucket was graciously given to Sunbury Press, and the adventure began! Debra Reynolds was handed the project of transcribing, editing, and patching the stories, where there were gaps due to the erosion of the paper. Silverfish had done their worst, but fortunately, preferred the pulp rather than the ink. Most of the stories were nearly complete. A couple required Debra's creativity to "become Herbert Stover" and fill the missing page or two. What follows is a volume of stories, lost for nearly 100 years! They are mostly contemporary detective / police action-adventure tales, almost always with a twist of romance. Stover also liked the technology of the day, and included automobiles, airplanes, trains, and telephones to a large degree. The stories are remarkably fresh and are entertaining to this day, providing a window into the mind of a young man who would decades letter become one of the region's most famous authors.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Catamount Press
• Seitenzahl: 198
• Erscheinungstermin: 21. Februar 2023
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 12mm
• Gewicht: 330g
• ISBN-13: 9798888190906
• Artikelnr.: 67510462

Autorenporträt

Herbert Elisha "Bert" Stover, of Livonia, Pennsylvania, was a well-known area historian. Born at his homestead at the top of the mountain between Loganton and Livonia January 15, 1888, he was the son of Adam & Jessie (DeLong) Stover. He was married (June 9, 1917) to the former Elva Kyler who died in 1955. They had two daughters, Ann Stover McFate of English Center and Marjorie Murray of Williamsport; two grandchildren and four great grandchildren.Beginning at the age of 17, Mr. Stover was a school teacher. He taught in the schools of Brush Valley and schools of Huntingdon, Austin and Philipsburg. He also taught at Lock Haven State College and was the principal of the Lock Haven High School. Mr. Stover was the supervising principal of the Lewisburg School System for 25 years before his retirement in 1953. He was a graduate of Lock Haven State College and received his master's degree in Education from Bucknell University at Lewisburg. He also took several courses at PSU. After his retirement Mr. Stover did some graduate teaching at Bucknell.In the 1920s, he wrote short stories for many magazines across the country but was rejected nearly all the time. His short story "My Lesson" was accepted by True Confessions magazine in February 1929, but then the stock market crashed and the Great Depression followed.During World War II, Stover compiled a schoolbook titled History of Pennsylvania which was published in 1944 and circulated across the Commonwealth. This was followed by several historical novels that gained national acclaim, the most famous of which was Song of the Susquehanna (1949). Mr. Stover was a member of the Great Island Presbyterian Church in Lock Haven and an elder of the First Presbyterian Church in Lewisburg. He is buried at Dunnstown Cemetery.