On the face of The Book of Forgotten Authors is a perfect Stocking Filler book the kind that is usually published around Christmas time, alongside gems such as Do Penguns Get Cold Feet and Sleb biographies which will fill the charity shop shelves in the New Year, BUT it is not. It is a Seriously Dangerous Book and should be labelled as such.
And why Dangerous you ask?
Because if you are like me, and as you read my blog I am assuming you are, then you will be whipping out a notebook and pen in no time and jotting down all the names of authors mentioned here who you think sound interesting. There will be cries of 'Oh I remember him/her' and 'gosh I wonder if I can get them on Amazon' and you will break off from reading to check.
And how do I know you will do this? Because I did.
So back to the book which is totally and utterly beguiling and guaranteed to make you spend money. I am at an advantage when reading about the authors mentioned here as I worked in the library system in London for about ten years during which time many of these writer's books passed through my hands and I remember loads them. Heaven knows I shelved them over and over again. I am not saying I read them all but I certainly remember them.
I dipped in an out at first checking those authors who interested me and the titles of the Chapters which caught my eye: The Forgotten Queens of Suspense, the Forgotten Booker Authors (quite a few who flashed across the firmament for one year only), The Forgotten Nonsense Writers and the Forgotten Books of Charles Dickens (delighted to say that I have read all of these. Hooray! Smugness all round at Schloss Random).
Now while I agree with him on the certain shades of forgetfulness, bearing in mind that I do tend to read older non modern literature, I am still somewhat surprised at some of those authors he deems to have sunk into oblivion.
First up, EM Delafield – Yes I totally agree that most of her writing has vanished and should be rediscovered, but her Diary of a Provincial Lady is never out of print, has many different versions and is always available in shops and online, and I really do not think she is forgotten.
Margery Allingham – another with which I disagree. Never out of print her books are out there and accessible. I agree she is not as well known as Christie et al but I do not think she merits a place in this book.
And the inclusion of Georgette Heyer as a Forgotten Author roused me to acute indignation. She is NOT forgotten. No way should she be in this book. Her first book was written nearly 100 years ago now and she is still going strong with new editions, both paper and ebooks, coming out at the rate of knots. Her sales are phenomenal so I hardly think she can be categorised as forgotten in any way. Christopher Fowler is a bit sniffy about here as well:
"her books were the kind my mother would have kept in the piano stool or the needlework table, because she didn't want anyone to think that she might find them enjoyable"
I fumed when I read that and I still am. Why are people so sniffy about her?
One other writer he mentions and I am delighted that he has is Frank Baker. The author of Miss Hargreaves which I wrote about back in 2009 here, is well worth seeking out. I have two copies on my shelves, Bloomsbury republished it a few years ago and it is available in paperback. Christopher Fowler also mentions that Frank Baker wrote a short story called The Birds in which London's inhabitants were mysteriously turned upon by avian predators. Sounds familiar? You may think that the author of the story on which the famous film is based is Daphne du Maurier. It seems Baker was living in Cornwall near her and Du Maurier was also the cousin of Baker's publisher so she may have heard of the book. Fowler hastens to say that this does not mean she stole it. After all 'all authors unwittingly absorb ideas from one another'……
Mmmm
Now to test you all. How many of the authors I am listing below have you heard of or remember or have read? All these names are those I know, I freely admit there are quite a few in this book I do not. Here goes:
Virginia Andrews, R M Ballantyne (Coral Island one of my favourite Victorian books), Lesley Blanch, Pierre Boulle, Mary Elizabeth Braddon,Brigid Brophy, John Dickson Carr, Norman Collins (I posted about him here) Edmund Crispin, Patrick Dennis, Michael Green (The Art of Coarse Acting one of the funniest books I have ever read) Eleonor HIbbert (aka Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, Ellalice Tate), Gavin Lambert…
I am stopping there. So many more.
There is a chapter on Justly Forgotten Authors which includes William McGonagall, Ernest Bulwer Lytton (originator of It was a Dark and Stormy Night); Richard Bach who wrote the excruciatingly pretentious Jonathn Livingstone Seagull and he also includes Dan Brown thought he does offer the caveat 'that any writer who can trick the Vatican into responding to a piece of fiction does not deserve the level of critical opprobrium Brown has endured'. I am sure his bank balance will make him feel better.
A witty book which will delight all book lovers – surely there are enough authors for a follow up.
Now back to my list and see how many I can track down. Too many books too little time….
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