J. D. Beresford
| J. D. Beresford | |
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| Born | John Davys Beresford 17 March 1873 |
| Died | 1 February 1947 (aged 73) |
| Genres | Science fiction, horror, ghost stories |
| Children | Elisabeth Beresford |
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John Davys Beresford (17 March 1873 – 1 February 1947) was an English writer, now remembered for his early science fiction and some short stories in the horror story and ghost story genres. His Hampdenshire Wonder was a major influence on Olaf Stapledon. [1] His other science-fiction novels include The Riddle of the Tower, about a dystopian, hive-like society. [2]
His father was a clergyman in Castor, now in Cambridgeshire near Peterborough. He was affected by infantile paralysis, which left him partially disabled. He was educated at Oundle.
After training to become an architect, he became a professional writer, first as a dramatist, and journalist. He combined a prominent place in Edwardian literary London with time spent in the provinces, in particular Cornwall where D. H. Lawrence had an extended stay in his Porthcothan cottage. Beresford described himself as a Theosophist and a pacifist. [3]
Elisabeth Beresford (1926–2010), children's writer and creator of The Wombles, was his daughter. Through his son, writer Marc Brandel, he is the great-grandfather of American actor James Newman.
[edit] Works
- The Early History of Jacob Stahl (1911) trilogy of novels includes A Candidate for Truth and The Invisible Event
- The Hampdenshire Wonder (1911) novel
- A Candidate for Truth (1912)
- Goslings: A World of Women (1913) novel
- The House in Demetrius Road (1914) novel
- The Invisible Event (1915) novel
- H. G. Wells (1915) criticism
- These Lynneskers (1916) Novel
- William Elphinstone Ford (1917) biography, with Kenneth Richmond
- House Mates (1917) Novel
- Nineteen Impressions (1918) stories
- God's Counterpoint (1918)Novel
- The Jervaise Comedy (1919)Novel
- The Imperfect Mother (1920) Novel
- Signs and Wonders (1921, Golden Cockerel Press) stories
- Revolution (1921) novel
- The Prisoner of Hartling (1922) Novel
- The Imperturbable Duchess and Other Stories (1923)
- Monkey Puzzle (1925)
- That Kind of Man, or Almost Pagan (1926)Novel
- The Instrument of Destiny (1928) a mystery novel
- All or Nothing (1928) novel
- Real People (1929) novel
- The Meeting Place and Other Stories (1929)
- Love's Illusion (1930)
- The Next Generation (1932) novel
- The Old People (1932) Novel
- The Camberwell Miracle (1933) novel
- Peckover (1934) novel
- On a Huge Hill (1935) novel
- Blackthorn Winter and other stories (1936)
- The Decoy (1937) Novel
- Cleo (1937) Novel
- What Dreams May Come (1941) novel
- A Common Enemy (1941) novel
- Men in the Same Boat (1943) (with Esme Wynne-Tyson)
- The Riddle of the Tower (1944) (with Esme Wynne-Tyson)
- The Gift (1947) (with Esme Wynne-Tyson)
- The Prisoner
- Love's Pilgrim
[edit] References
- ^ Brian Stableford, The Hampdenshire Wonder in Frank N. Magill, ed. Survey of Science Fiction Literature, Vol. 2. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1979. pp. 945-949. ISBN 0893561940
- ^ Brian Stableford, The Riddle of the Tower in Frank N. Magill, ed. Survey of Science Fiction Literature, Vol. 4. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1979. pp. 1780-1783. ISBN 0893561940
- ^ Twentieth century authors, a biographical dictionary of modern literature, edited by Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycraft; (Third Edition). New York, The H.W. Wilson Company, 1950, (p.p. 130-1)
- J. D. Beresford (1998) George M. Johnson
- Bleiler, Everett (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. p. 49.
