Showell Styles
Frank Showell Styles (14 March 1908 - 19 February 2005) was a Welsh writer and mountaineer.
Showell Styles was born in Four Oaks, Birmingham and was educated at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield. Known to his friends as 'Pip', Showell Styles' childhood was spent in the hills of North Wales where he became an avid mountaineer and explorer. During the Second World War, Styles joined the Royal Navy and was posted in the Mediterranean, but even there he walked and climbed as much as he could.
An aspiring writer, Styles already had articles published in Punch, before setting out to make his living as an author. His first novel, Traitor’s Mountain, was a murder mystery set on and around Tryfan in Wales. He became a prolific writer with over 160 books published for children as well as adults. In addition to books on mountains such as The Mountaineer’s Weekend Book, he wrote detective fiction under the pseudonym of Glyn Carr, and humorous pieces as C.L. Inker.
For walkers visiting Snowdonia for the first time, Styles' The Mountains of North Wales is monumentally inspirational, written by a sure hand and with a firm conviction and love of these mountains.
Bibliography
Midshipman Septimus Quinn
Midshipman Quinn (1956)
Quinn of the Fury (1958)
Midshipman Quinn and Denise the spy (1961)
Midshipman Quinn Wins Through (1961)
Quinn at Trafalgar (1965)
The Midshipman Quinn Collection (omnibus) (2000)
Tiger Patrol
Tiger Patrol (1957)
The Tiger Patrol At Sea (1958)
The Tiger Patrol Presses On (1961)
Lieutenant Michael Fitton Adventures
Sword for Mr. Fitton (1975)
Mr. Fitton's Commission (1977)
A Ship for Mr. Fitton (1991)
Mr. Fitton's Prize (1993)
Mr. Fitton and the Black Legion (1994)
Mr. Fitton in Command (1995)
Lieutenant Fitton (1997)
Mr. Fitton at the Helm (1998)
The Martinique Mission (1999)
Mr. Fitton's Hurricane (2000)
Novels
Traitor's Mountain (1946)
Sir Devil (1949)
Death on Milestone Buttress (1951)
Path to Glory (1951)
Dark Hazard (1952)
Land from the Sea (1952)
Mr. Nelson's Ladies (1953)
Murder On the Matterhorn (1953)
The Youth Hostel Murders (1953)
The Frigate Captain (1954)
The Moated Mountain (1955)
His Was Fire (1956)
The Lost Glacier (1956)
The Sea Lord (1956)
Admiral's Fancy (1958)
Wolfe Commands You (1959)
Shadow Buttress (1959)
The Battle of Cotton: Revolution in Britain (1960)
Greencoats Against Napoleon (1960)
The Flying Ensign: Greencoats Against Napoleon (1960)
The Battle of Steam: Revolution in Britain (1961)
The Lost Pothole (1961)
The Sea Officer (1961)
The Shop in the Mountain (1961)
Byrd of the 95th (1962)
Gentleman Johnny (1962)
The Ladder of Snow (1962)
Thunder Over Spain (1962)
A Necklace of Glaciers (1963)
H.M.S. Diamond Rock (1963)
The Camp in the Hills (1964)
Greenhorn's Cruise (1964)
Blue Remembered Hills (1965)
Red for adventure (1965)
Mr Fiddle (1965)
The Pass of Morning (1966)
Wolf Cub Island (1966)
Number Two-Ninety (1966)
Confederate Raider (1967)
Mr Fiddle's Band (1967)
Rock and Rope (1967)
Indestructible Jones (1967)
Mallory of Everest (1967)
Journey with a Secret (1968)
Sea Road to Camperdown (1968)
Journey with a Success (1969)
First Up Everest (1969)
Cubs of the Castle (1969)
Jones' Private Navy (1969)
Case for Mister Fiddle (1969)
Mystery of the Fleeing Girl (1970)
The Snowdon Rangers (1970)
First on the Summits (1970)
Forbidden Frontiers (1970)
A Tent on Top (1971)
Vincey Joe at Quiberon (1971)
Cubs on the Job (1972)
Admiral of England (1973)
The Baltic Convoy (1979)
Kiss for Captain Hardy (1979)
Centurion Comes Home (1980)
Quarterdeck Ladder (1982)
Seven Gun Broadside (1982)
Stella And The Fireships (1983)
The Malta Frigate (1983)
Mutiny in the Caribbean (1984)
The Lee Shore (1986)
Gun Brig Captain (1987)
H. M. S. Cracker (1988)
Nelson Made Me (1989)
Nelson's Midshipman (1991)
The Independent Cruise (1992)
The 12-Gun Cutter (1996)
Picture Books
Marty's Mountain (1973)
Anthologies edited
Men and Mountaineering: An Anthology of Writings By Climbers (1968)
Welsh Tales for Children (1993)
Non fiction
A Climber in Wales (1949)
The Mountaineer's Week-End Book (1950)
Introduction to Mountaineering (1954)
Mountains of the Midnight Sun (1954)
The Camper's and Tramper's Week-End Book (1957)
Introduction to Caravanning (1957)
Getting to Know Mountains (1958)
How Mountains Are Climbed (1958)
How Underground Britain Is Explored (1959)
Look At Mountains (1962)
Modern Mountaineering (1964)
The Foundations of Climbing (1966)
Climbing (1967)
On Top of the World (1967)
The Sea Cub (1967)
The Arrow Book of Climbing (1967)
The Climber's Bedside Book (1968)
Welsh Walks and Legends (1972)
What to See in Beddgelert and How to See It (1973)
Snowdon Range: Snowdonia District Guide Books (1973)
Mountains of North Wales (1973)
Glyder Range: Snowdonia District Guide Books (1974)
Exploring Gwynedd from Porthmadog (1974)
Souvenir Guide: Chwarel HêN Llanfair, Old Llanfair Quarry, Slate Caverns (1974)
Backpacking in Alps and Pyrenees (1976)
Backpacking: A Comprehensive Guide (1976)
Backpacking in Wales (1977)
Welsh walks & legends, South Wales (1977)
Llanberis Area Guide (1978)
Walks in Gwynedd (1980)
Public Footpath Walks from the Cambrian Coast (1980)
Walks from the Festiniog Railway (1980)
Snowdonia National Park: National Parks Guide (1987)
Welsh Walks and Legends: North Wales (1996)
North Wales Walks and Legends (2002)