Dreaming of Utopia

Dreaming of Utopia by Steve Holland
To be published: 24 November 2024
Format: A4, 88 full colour pages, softcover with matte cover

The book is now available on my eBay store.

American orders can be made via PayPal, price £25.49 UK pounds paid to steve [at] bearalley.co.uk. Please make sure you include your address. Due to recent postal changes, American and other overseas orders should be made through Paypal in UK sterling; just e-mail me and I can offer postage much cheaper than Ebay's Global Shipping. Same offer applies if you want to buy more than one volume at a time.

DREAMING OF UTOPIA

The story of Lloyd Cole, Benson Herbert and Utopian Publications stretches from cycling around Sunderland selling religious tracts to studying paranormal activity in Wiltshire. For a decade between 1941 and 1951, the two founded and managed a dozen different companies, publishing novels, non-fiction and magazines, some of them now highly prized by collectors. But the business also led authorities to condemn Cole for being "without any sense of commercial honesty" and accuse Herbert of making "a large profit out of pornography" before fraud, theft and court cases brought an end to their publications.

This is their story...

... and the stories of the authors who provided so much of their output, with essays on Edmund Burton (Edmund Burton Childs), R.C. Finney, N. Westley Firth and Sydney J. Bounds. The latter two wrote dozens of stories for Benson Herbert's 'spicy' magazines, many of which were deemed by post-war era's magistrates to be obscene and resulting in over 600 destruction orders issued against them. The magazines were Herbert's way of publicizing his more lucrative business of selling 'art studies' from his home.

Norman Firth, who had earned himself the nickname 'The Prince of Pulp Pedlars', lived with his family at Herbert's home in Kensington, churning out book after book, but was forced to leave when he developed TB. A writer of potential, Firth was dead before he reached 30.

The book also includes an essay on Reina Sington, later Reina Bull, who went from drawing stylistic book covers for paperbacks to drawing fetish illustrations for Herbert's Fads & Fancies magazine and covers for his 'spicy' titles that emphasized legs, stockings, suspenders, frilly knickers and super-high heels.

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Female Detectives in Early Crime Fiction 1841-1920

An extensive survey of female detectives in works of fiction published between 1841 and the end of 1920. Nominated for the H.R.F. Keating Award at CrimeFest 2025 for Best Biographical or Critical Book.

Female Detectives in Early Crime Fiction 1841-1920
Published: 13 September 2024
Format: A4, 460 pages, with matte cover

Available in print from Amazon in the following territories: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon ES | Amazon IT | Amazon NL | Amazon PL | Amazon SE | Amazon JP | Amazon CA

FROM THE INTRODUCTION

This is a survey of female detectives in works of fiction published between 1841 and the end of 1920. The start date simply acknowledges that the female detective as a recognisable character did not exist before 1841. There is slightly less rationale for the end date but after the First World War crime fiction moved in new directions and the twenties and thirties are often referred to as its ‘Golden Age’. The aim of this survey is to chronicle the formative era of the genre, before this Golden Age, and to focus on its first seventy or eighty years.
     The book is divided into entries, each of which deals with a work of fiction which generally falls into one of three categories: a novel, a series of stories or a standalone short story. Both periodical appearances and appearances in book form are covered. The entries are stand-alone commentaries with only a little cross-referencing. Relevant works by the same author are mentioned and, for those works written in the early years of the genre, there is some discussion of their context and place in the historical development of the female detective.
     The treatment of each work is not rigidly uniform but contains a variable blend of bibliographic information and critical commentary with the discussion focussing on the character, career and capabilities of the detective. However it is often impossible to discuss the activities of the detective without revealing details of the plot and so — caveat lector — there are ‘spoilers’ ahead.
     Featured here are private detectives and, although some authors have taken liberties with historical authenticity, official police detectives. There are also the committed amateurs who would proudly describe themselves as detectives but alongside these there are others whose membership of this illustrious sisterhood is more problematic.
     In some stories there is a protagonist who becomes involved with a mystery and helps with its resolution but who cannot be considered a fully fledged detective in that she makes a positive contribution to the problem only in an ad hoc or fragmentary way. She may thwart a criminal, make logical deductions, uncover clues or assist others in apprehending a wrong-doer, but still not function as a detective.
     Clearly, to resolve these issues, one needs a working definition of what does and what does not constitute a detective. In fact it is useful to have two definitions: the definition of a ‘detective’ and the definition of a ‘detective story’. Taken together these will help to establish criteria for a work to be included in this survey.
     A detective resolves to solve a mystery and is prepared to make a sustained and determined attempt to do so. There should be a planned and purposeful approach to interpreting facts, gathering clues and making logical deductions with the aim of furthering the investigation. The detective will take proactive steps and, ideally, achieve something that no one else has done, such as making new discoveries or finding new explanations to fit the facts. On its own, an intense desire to learn the outcome is not enough; nor is having occasional insights or asking pertinent questions unless these are translated into positive, constructive actions. Nor is it enough just to thwart or foil villains in a purely reactive way. The detective need not be infallible but should nevertheless be seen to adopt a methodical and focussed strategy that has at least the potential to succeed.
     For a few humorous works, where there is undeniably a female detective, these requirements have been applied flexibly or waived all together.
     Over the years commentators and critics have suggested criteria to define what is meant by detective fiction and those given here follow the broad consensus. To qualify as a ‘detective story’ there is a bare minimum that must be true:

• The story must contain a detective.
• There must be a criminal problem or a mystery and the detective must actually perform acts of detection in an attempt to arrive at its solution.
• The detective must be an important character.
• The mystery and the detective’s attempts to solve it must be a major — arguably the major — plot strand.

So the mere appearance of a character described as a detective does not define detective fiction. Romances or adventure stories where there is a minor detective strand to the plot are also unlikely to qualify.

Forgotten Authors Volume 5

More essays about long-forgotten authors whose work once entertained millions.

This new volume of Forgotten Authors follows in the footsteps of the previous series—the four volumes that made up fifty essays on long-forgotten or dimly-remembered writers—with eleven articles the writing careers of highwaymen biographer Alexander Smith in the early 18th century, to 20th century lama and mystic, T. Lobsang Rampa.

Available as both a Kindle e-book and a print volume via Amazon:

PRINT EDITION:
Available in the following territories: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon ES | Amazon IT | Amazon NL | Amazon PL | Amazon SE | Amazon JP | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

KINDLE EDITION:
Available in the following territories: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon DE | Amazon FR | Amazon ES | Amazon IT | Amazon NL | Amazon JP | Amazon BR | Amazon CA | Amazon MX | Amazon AU | Amazon IN

Contents

Before the Newgate Calendar
Today’s tabloids, with their daily diet of sensational and tawdry tales, are nothing new. Chapbooks and pamphlets, complete with grisly woodcuts, were common in the eighteenth century, when highwaymen still roamed the heaths and pirates ruled the waves. Two of the most influential books gathering the biographies of notorious criminals appeared in 1714 and 1726, and arguments over their authorship have raged for 300 years.

James Skipp Borlase
Accused of plagiarism in Australia, the former lawyer returned to England and a career as a penny-a-liner until he became one of the most successful writers of feuilletons.

John G. Brandon
Nowadays known only for his contributions to the Sexton Blake saga, Brandon was once a successful playwright and theatre actor, whose play The Silent House was a huge success on stage, screen and sold a quarter of a million copies in book form.

Alfred Duggan
A writer of historical novels who could count Bernard Cornwall and George R. R. Martin amongst his fans... but whose troubled personal and family background almost destroyed him before he turned to writing in his forties.

T. Lobsang Rampa
Few stories can be more bizarre than that of Cyril Hoskin, who claimed that his body was taken over by a lama from Tibet. The story was told through a series of best-selling books, beginning with The Third Eye, much to the disappointment of Tibetan scholars.

Donald Cresswell
Actor and novelist Donald Cresswell had once spent time in prison and on the run from the police when he broke out of Dartmoor… and then he went missing one night while taking a walk along the cliff tops around his Cornwall home…

Judith M. Berrisford
The creator of pony-mad Jackie filled her books with horses, dogs and cats and was inspired to write her first novel after watching a neighbour’s sheep dog.

Bryan Haven
Australian who fought in Korea before turning to journalism and fiction, penning a number of historically accurate western and spy novels, although success always seemed to elude him.

Michael Butterworth
From unsuccessful weighing machine salesman to hugely successful editor of teenage girls’ and women’s magazines, Butterworth turned his back on Fleet Street, retreated to a mansion in Sussex, and wrote psychological thrillers, blackly comic novels and gothic romances under pen-names.

H. J. Campbell
After training as a chemist and assisting in various hospitals and institutions, Campbell turned his writing sideline into a full-time job and wrote 23 novels in four years before returning to science.

Anthony Dyllington
Who was the mysterious Dyllington, author of The Unseen Thing, and what was his connection with the manor house at Knighton Gorges on the Isle of Wight.

Beyond the Void: The Remarkable History of Badger Books

Beyond the Void: The Remarkable History of Badger Books
Published: 25 March 2024
Format: A4, 172 pages, full colour with matte cover.

Currently available via my Ebay Shop. Due to recent postal changes, American and other overseas orders should be made through Paypal in UK sterling; just e-mail me and I can offer postage much cheaper than Ebay's Global Shipping. Same offer applies if you want to buy more than one volume at a time.

Also available via Amazon.

Jules Burt's BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

BEYOND THE VOID
The Remarkable History of Badger Books

Badger Books was an imprint of British publishing company, John Spencer & Co., who were active between 1948 and 1967, during which time they published around 800 novels, short story collections and magazines. They were notoriously bad payers, 10 shilling a thousand words, so a 55,000-word novel would receive £27 ($75). That's not a bad deal if you can knock out a novel over a weekend, or over a few days in the evenings after work. Step forward John S. Glasby, a chemist at ICI, and the Rev. R. Lionel Fanthorpe, at the time a teacher, who, between them, wrote over 400 books for the company.

This is their story, and the story of other toilers in the field at Badger Books from John F. Watt, who wrote most of their science fiction magazines in the early 1950s, to Henry Fox, the imaginative cover artist of over 240 books. The book explores the history of John Spencer / Badger Books, and includes interviews and essays on many of the leading contributors, including a look at perhaps the worst SF author of all time, Barney Ward.

The book is 172 pages, full colour, and has around 520 cover illustrations.

Reviews

Named Jules Burt's BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024. The video announcing the win can be found here.

Andrew Buckle's review of BEYOND THE VOID can be found here. "This book is brilliant ... If you're a fan of some of these books, this book is going to be a must-buy. I absolutely love it!"

The Trials of Hank Janson [New Edition]

SHORTLISTED FOR THE GOLD DAGGER AWARD FOR NON-FICTION

The Trials of Hank Janson
Published: 6 September 2023.
Format: US trade paperback (6" x 9"), 318 pages of cream paper with matte cover. Also available as a casebound hardback and on Kindle. Please note that not all formats are available in all territories.

SOFTCOVER

Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon DE – Amazon FR – Amazon ES – Amazon IT – Amazon NL – Amazon PL – Amazon SE – Amazon JP – Amazon CA – Amazon AU

HARDCOVER

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Amazon NL– Amazon PL

SIGNED COPIES

If you want signed copies of the book or a copy in hardback in territories where Amazon do not supply, contact me directly at the address below the photo (top right).

THE TRIALS OF HANK JANSON

A perfect storm of paper shortages and fly-by-night publishers in the years after World War II led to a boom in cheaply produced American-style hard-boiled crime fiction. Hank Janson, dubbed the ‘Best of Tough Gangster Authors’—in truth a south London former shipping clerk turned publisher—sold five million copies of his novels to a public who craved excitement and escapism in Hank’s violent, sexually charged world.

The courts took a more damning view, destroying hundreds of thousands of paperbacks and magazines that were judged obscene. Janson’s novels, with their voluptuous pin-up covers, were a regular target, but requests for guidance from authorities went unanswered. Then, Janson’s publisher and distributor were arrested, tried and jailed.

This is the story of Hank Janson, of his creator Stephen D Frances, and how, out of the ashes of destruction orders levelled at cheap gangster novels, the Obscene Publications Act was reformed.

THE TRIALS OF HANK JANSON was a runner-up for the Crime Writers’ Association’s Golden Dagger Award. This revised and expanded edition reveals more of the background and people behind the much-maligned  author whose books eventually sold twenty million copies, were translated widely, and who had an arrest warrant issued, should he dare to return to the UK from his home in Spain.

This new edition of the book reinstates a chapter missing from for the original edition, as well as adding information not available twenty years ago.


REVIEWS

"I always assumed Hank Janson was a tough ex cop turned writer living in the Bronx.Now I find he was a rather mild Englishman but still a great writer who's books sold in their millions. This is a very well researched bio with some great photos. The guy had a strange and hard life and worked hard at his craft.Literary snobs turn up their noses at the name Hank Janson but you can't argue with massive sales and this book confirms that he was one of the best modern day writer's. A great behind the scenes read."—Amazon. (5 stars)

"This fine book is several stories in one volume: a biography of Stephen Frances, author of pulp thrillers and other works of popular literature; an account of the "life" of Frances' best-known creation and occasional alter ego, Hank Janson; the tale of seat-of-the pants publishing in postwar England; and a chapter in the long 20th Century history of moral authority attempting to suppress books people want to read, the low rent district not far from Lady Chatterley's farm. Steve Holland's prose is clear and he sorts deftly through the sometimes complex accounts of who published whom under which names, sometimes with unclear attribution or authorship. The court cases are largely portrayed through transcripts, some of which reach Carrollian depths of assumed guilt before the trial even begins. Altogether, this book is mostly the story of a writer during the last great age of fictioneering, pumping out several books a month across multiple genres, successful enough and proud of his art even in the face of blue nosed persecution. It's a great story."—Bill Wallace, Goodreads (4 stars)

"Steve Holland has done a great job in presenting the facts how Hank Janson aka Stephen Frances was stitched up by the Justiciary under the all embracing Obscene Publications Act This is the definitive book that every Hank Janson fan will want to read."—Amazon. (4 stars)

"What a fascinating book! A cracking read and so well written. Holland keeps our interest from start to finish. We follow a rough chronological order of the life and times and events in Stephen Frances / Hank Janson's life. Holland never lets go of his objective to focus on censorship and prosecutions in the 50s and also letting us behind the veil in seeing a man whose life was dedicating to writing."—Amazon (5 stars)

And The Wheels Went Round by John Chisnall & Anthony Davis

“On the last lap Bill takes a chance. With Rogliardo edging alongside as they enter the ultra-fast Malmédy bend, Beevers leaves his braking late to keep his opponent at bay but drifts slightly off-line and gets onto the marbles. The bike spins out of control allowing the Frenchman to sneak through to bag second place. Worse, the centrifugal force of the gyrating outfit throws Bill off leaving John heading for potential disaster with a trackside post looming up...”

And the Wheels Went Round is a book of anecdotes and reminiscences about riding in the TT and throughout continental Europe where John Chisnall had the hair-raising job of dangling over the side of a bike doing 100 mph.

Forgotten Authors Volume 4

More essays about long-forgotten authors whose work once entertained millions.

J Redding Ware
Creator of one of the first female detectives, a popular playwright, philologist and writer connected with cheap and popular literature who took umbrage at being described as an author of ‘mischievous literature.’

William Nicholas Willis
Controversial politician, horse dealer and land owner who kept the Australian courts busy before moving to the UK to write and publish books about slave trafficking, prostitution and sex education.

M. Lehane Willis
The mysterious author who, as Bree Narran, wrote candid novels and freely translated the works of Guy de Maupassant and Paul de Kock, but whose career ended in criminality.

Charles McDonald Lindsay
A former soldier, Lindsay wrote a book warning of what might happen if Germany invaded Britain and another about a man accused of murdering his business partner’s wife, and what happens when he meets the same man’s second wife.

James Edward Crabtree
Writer and journalist who penned the adventures of Gripton Court for boys in the early years of the 20th century.

Randal Charlton
A charismatic dandy married to a popular actress, Charlton was a Liberal journalist with a promising career and a couple of well-liked novels under his belt. But debts started to pile up…

Eardley Beswick
His first novels was acclaimed by Compton Mackenzie as “the most irresistibly absorbing novel,” but Beswick’s seemingly promising career as an author lasted only a matter of years before he left it behind.

Olga Katzin
Described as a “Russian writer and actress”, Olga was, in fact, born in London. An actress who ran the Katzin-Miller Repertory Company, who was also an accomplished playwright and poet.

Donald Sinderby (Donald Ryder Stephens)
Author of novels based on his experiences in India, including Mother-in-Law India, published in 1930 and set twenty years in the future when inter-caste conflict ravage the country after the end of the Raj.

The case of the two Hazel Adairs
Not to be confused—as this author did in the past—are Hazel Iris Addis, née Wilson, and Hazel Joyce Marriott, formerly Mackenzie, formerly Hamblin, née Willett, who both enjoyed careers under the name Hazel Adair.

Eileen Owbridge
For some years Owbridge ran a village bookshop, learning precisely what the romance-reading public wanted and turning that knowledge into sixty novels for Mills & Boon.

Alan Melville (W. Allan Caverhill)
Crime writer, well-reviewed by Dorothy L. Sayers and Sydney Horler, who turned to writing plays and revues, as well as becoming a popular broadcaster on, and writer for, TV and radio.

Enid Florence Brockies
Author—as Countess Helene Magriska—of romantic novels that found a steady readership in the 1930s and 1940s but whose career was cut short by her early death.

Anita Hewett
A teacher and radio producer, Hewett was also a writer of children’s short stories for radio and in print. Her animal tales were very popular and her book Mrs Mopple’s Washing Line was adapted on TV several times.

Iron Mask:Harry Bensley's "Walking Round the World" Hoax

On 1 January 1908, in London's Trafalgar Square, a man in an old-fashioned iron helmet began an adventure that was to take him to 172 towns and cities in the United Kingdom before heading overseas to visit another 118 cities in Canada, USA, South America, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Japan, China, India, Egypt and seven European countries.

Although independently wealthy, the man in the iron mask was allowed to finance his trip only through the sale of postcards and pamphlets relating to his journey from a pram that he was to push for the duration of the journey and at no point was he allowed to reveal his identity. The final challenge was that, despite keeping his face hidden, he had to find a wife.

This astonishing journey was the result of a $100,000 (£21,000) bet between the Earl of Lonsdale and steel and banking magnate J. P. Morgan and the daring masked man had almost completed the round the world trip six years later and was on the point of collecting what would today be the equivalent of £2,250,000 when the bet was cancelled.

This is the story of that journey.

This is also the story of how Harry Bensley, released from jail for fraud and bigamy, dreamed up an astonishing hoax. Disguised behind his iron mask, Bensley trekked south from London, along the southern counties and into the west country, visiting towns, attracting crowds and selling his postcards. He claimed to have met and married a woman, although she was already known to him. He was even tried in a court of law without once giving his real name.

Iron Mask is the story of that journey, too!

This book takes a look behind the legend of the "Walking Round the World" hoax, revealing the impoverished origins of Bensley and his family and documenting a criminal path that was the lead to his most audacious deception.


REVIEWS

Amazon - 5 stars
The story sounds like an implausible Hollywood film but it was true! Who was the Man in the Iron Mask (no, not the French novel by Dumas!)? He set off from Trafalgar Square to push a pram around the world in January 1908 to win a £20,000 bet! he seems to have been a lovable rogue and this was not the first time he had hoodwinked people! I won't say more so I don't spoil the story as it's wilder than even this!
    Steve Holland has preserved a wonderful British eccentric's story for us all to enjoy. Give it as a Birthday or Christmas present to anyone who's curious about people in any way!

Forgotten Authors Volume 3

More essays about long-forgotten authors whose work once entertained millions.

Mysteries of the House of Harrison & Viles
The story of Edward Harrison, publisher of the first ‘penny dreadful’ for boys and the first upmarket magazine for women, and his partner Edward Viles, the author of Black Bess, at 2¼ million words the longest-running penny dreadful of them all.

Walter Viles
The tragic career of the prolific, popular, inebriated brother of Edward Viles.

Dempster Heming
The first in a pair of essays about the younger brothers of Bracebridge Hemyng who were also writers. After years in Myanmar and India, Dempster Heming created the Munchausen-esque Colonel Bowlong for a series of tall tales.

Philip Heming
Following in his brother’s footsteps, Philip Heming struggled as a writer and, later, as editor of the infamous London Life, was prosecuted for publishing indecent material.

Mrs. Frances Campbell
A successful Edwardian journalist and novelist before she lost her husband to suicide and become involved in some curious work on behalf of W. T. Stead.

Phyllis Campbell and the Angels of Mons
The daughter of Mrs. Frances Campbell whose article in Occult Review and subsequent book about her time on the Front during the Great War helped spread the myth of the Angels of Mons.

W. Keppel Honnywill
Author of The Master Sinner who leapt to his death in the heart of London.

J. Weedon Birch
Author of stories about a schoolboy named Billy Bunter before Frank Richards created Greyfriars School.

Michael Storm (A. Ernest Hinshelwood)
The most enigmatic of all Sexton Blake authors—and one of the best—who died tragically young and left behind a legacy of mystery that baffled fans and collectors for decades.

Michael Storm (Charles Ignatius Sempill)
The mystery of ‘Michael Storm’ continued… who was the author—seemingly related to the mysterious long-dead writer of Sexton Blake—who resurrected his most famous pen-name?

George Hamilton Teed
To many he was Sexton Blake’s finest author, but George Hamilton Teed began his career in dead man’s shoes… as the ghost of Michael Storm.

Michael Storme (George H. A. Dawson)
Author of Unlucky Virgin, Kiss The Corpse Goodbye and Hot Dames on Cold Slabs accused by an M.P. of writing pornography.

Forgotten Authors Volume 2

More essays about authors whose work entertained millions but who are now almost wholly forgotten.

Amazon review of Volume 1:
An excellent book on thirteen forgotten British authors. It covers authors who wrote in the Victorian to the post World War II eras. Some of the authors featured are Morley Adams, Dail Ambler, Gerald Biss, Stella M. During, and Alexander Wilson. Recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of books, book publishing, obscure authors or even researching family history. Looking forward to Volume 2

Bracebridge Hemyng: The rise and fall of the Heming family was mirrored by the career of the most famous of the writing dynasty that emerged from it—the creator of Jack Harkaway, enticed to America with the promise of $10,000 a year but who returned with nothing to show for his success.

Philip Richards: Who was the author behind the continuation of Bracebridge Hemyng’s most famous creation, Jack Harkaway?

Frank Barrett (Frank Davis): Writer of novels that ranged from crime, historical to romance and science fiction, earning their author comparison (although not always favourably) to Wilkie Collins and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Ernest Protheroe: A former teacher and incredibly prolific writer for boys and girls under a variety of names who was probably more successful with his non-fiction than his novels.

Charles Granville (Charles Hosken): Publisher, editor, novelist, poet, businessman, bankrupt, bigamist, thief… the extraordinary life of Charles Hosken, who wrote crusading novels as he defrauded all around him.

Louise Heilgers: Her literary gifts were highly praised, but her writing career was overshadowed by tragedy, a succession of failed businesses and a headline-grabbing escape abroad with her “husband”…

C. E. Vulliamy: Historian, biographer and satirist, a writer of memoirs of imaginary Victorians who also penned crime novels under his own name and as Anthony Rolls.

Evelyn Winch: Author of the popular but now forgotten The Girl in the Flat, Winch was queen of the “thriller-romance” in the 1930s before her life ended in tragedy.

Frederick Foden: Author who churned out 75 violent and sexually-charged tough-guy gangster yarns in four years, while he himself was a bachelor who lived with his mother.

David Roberts: Writer behind the weekly adventures of world travelling Gulliver guinea-pig and fairy tale heroine Princess Marigold, Roberts helped entertain and shape the minds of millions of youngsters as both a scriptwriter and creator of children’s magazines.

Forgotten Authors Volume 1

A collection of essays about authors whose work entertained millions but who are now almost wholly forgotten.

This is utterly fascinating:  what a terrific accomplishment!  It has held and engaged me.  Authors who are only names have been documented and recorded, from the pathetic to the successful, and everywhere in between.  This is incredible research, and I cannot begin to thank you enough for sharing it.  I’m dipping into it with absolutely enormous pleasure.—Richard Bleiler

W. Stephens Hayward: Gambler and alcoholic who wasted a fortune worth half a million in only a few years, but could count Robert Louis Stevenson amongst the fans of his novels.

Anonyma: The anonymous best-seller whose novels “No respectable bookseller would like his daughter to read  …  and no man who values his repute should suffer them to disgrace his shop.”

Stella M. During: Popular romance writer whose pedigree proved quite a challenge.

Edric Vredenburg: Thriller writer who turned to writing and editing books for the very young and who, as ‘Father Tuck’, was as familiar as Santa Claus on Christmas Day.

Morley Adams: Creator of puzzles, word games and number games in print and for the radio that entertained millions of readers and listeners over the decades.

Gerald Biss: Author of popular feuilletons, whose The Dupe anticipated the infamous murder of Emma Levin in Monte Carlo.

W. Holt-White: Writer of sensational novels said to make “the older school of ‘thriller’ authors look like tame and unimaginative bores.”

Alphonse Courlander: Novelist and journalist whose Mightier Than the Sword was based on his own experiences of Fleet Street, but who was overwhelmed by the horrors of war.

Ella M. Scrymsour: Actress and playwright who is today remembered for her novel The Perfect World and as the creator of Sheila Crerar, psychic detective.

Alexander Wilson: Spy novelist who faked being a spy and had four families he successfully kept secret from each other.

Guy Ramsey: The journalist who broke the story of Rudolf Hess’s imprisonment in wartime Britain.

E. T. Portwin: Writer of romances for teenagers and stories for children who eventually sold his magazine publishing and printing empire for £8 million.

Dail Ambler: Screenwriter of  Beat Girl who spent her early career as a “fiction factory” churning out a novel a week.

The Men Behind Flying Saucer Review

From 1955 until the present day, the Flying Saucer Review has been key to chronicling the appearance of Unidentified Flying Objects and the latest theories of why they have been appearing in our skies. A dedicated group of enthusiasts - amongst them an accountant, a publisher's editor, a test pilot, a novelist and a member of the House of Lords - were amongst those who helped put together this remarkable magazine. Who they were and how they came to work together makes for a fascinating tale, some of it as curious as the phenomena the magazine studied.

Countdown to TV Action

AVAILABLE NOW!

The latest comic index from Bear Alley Books covers the history and content of Countdown and TV Action, the Gerry Anderson-themed comic from Polystyle launched in the early 1970s. With the demise of TV Century 21, Polystyle stepped in to launch a comic based around the upcoming UFO TV series. Edited by Dennis Hooper, Countdown brought together some of the industry's best talents—amongst them Harry Lindfield, Gerry Haylock, John M. Burns—to create a comic that is remembered to this day.

As well as UFO, Countdown's early issues included many of Gerry Anderson's famous creations in its line-up: Thunderbirds, Lady Penelope, Captain Scarlet, Stingray, Joe 90, Fireball XL5, Zero X and The Secret Service. From its companion TV Comic—the two titles were edited out of the same Edgware Road offices—came Doctor Who, to star in some of the very best comic strip adventures of his career.

Over its run—during which the title morphed from Countdown to TV Action—the paper also featured the adventures of The Persuaders, Hawaii Five-O, Cannon and Alias Smith & Jones, plus the long-running science fiction epic, Countdown, created by editor Hooper. With artists like Keith Watson, Brian Lewis, Frank Langford and Don Harley working on strips, the paper was always a visual feast.

With behind-the-scenes stories from some of the original editorial staff, this volume includes a detailed index to the stories and strips that appeared over the paper's 132-week run and various spin-off publications, identifying artists and writers where possible.

Countdown to TV Action is the fifth volume of comics' history published by Bear Alley Books, following the publication of Hurricane & Champion, Lion King of Picture Story Papers, Ranger: The National Boys' Magazine and Boys' World: Ticket to Adventure.

Boys' World: Ticket to Adventure!

Boys' World is one of the most fondly remembered of all British comics from the 1960s. An Eagle for the new decade, it featured across its centre pages the mighty 'Wrath of the Gods', an epic tale of deities and demons beautifully drawn by Ron Embleton. Readers thrilled to the adventure of 'The Sea Ape', puzzled over the question 'What Is Exhibit X?' and roared at the sporting antics of 'Billy Binns and his Wonderful Specs'.

Giants of science fiction Mike Moorcock and Harry Harrison were both contributors, Harrison writing one of the text story serials as well as adapting his novel Deathworld as 'The Angry Planet'. Harrison also penned the original Brett Million story 'The Ghost World', one of the finest science fiction strips to appear in British comics and complimented by some outstanding artwork by Frank Bellamy. Moorcock's contributions were more esoteric, ranging from numerous episodes of the feature 'Do You Know Your Name?' to essays on lost cities, submarines and volcanoes. Harrison and Moorcock were also among the many writers who contributed short stories to Boys' World, a list that also includes Barrington J. Bayley, Sydney J. Bounds, Wildred McNeilly, Rex Dolphin, Donne Avenell, Jim Edgar and Tom Tully.

The paper's roster of artists included many of the finest illustrators of the early Sixties, including John M. Burns, Frank Langford, Colin Andrew, Brian Lewis, Frank Humphris, Gerry Embleton, Harry Bishop, James McConnell, Don Lawrence, Roy Cross, Luis Bermejo and Gino D'Antonio.

Boys' World: Ticket to Adventure relates how the paper came into existence at a turbulent time for comics, how its original editor was replaced before the first issue even reached the newsstands and how it eventually folded into the paper it was meant to replace.

Compiled by Steve Holland, the book also includes extensive indexes to the paper's contents as well as those of the Boys' World Annuals; the book also includes title and creators' indexes, outlines of every comic strip storyline the paper ran and a unique look at the payments made for three key issues.

Ranger The National Boys' Magazine

Ranger The National Boys' Magazine is the latest in Bear Alley's series of titles covering the history and contents of some of Britain's most fondly remembered comics. Ranger may not have lasted as long as Lion – our previous title – but it was home to some memorable stories and features, including one of comics' finest creations, 'The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'.

'Trigan Empire' wasn't the only story in Ranger to feature artwork by Don Lawrence. The book's creators' index includes an astonishing array of famous names, including Frank Hampson, Ron Embleton, John Millar Watt, Mike Hubbard, Jesus Blasco, Colin Merrett, Graham Coton, Francis Marshall, Henry Seabright, Will Nickless and Theo Page. With stories by talents as diverse as Captain W. E. Johns and John Creasey, Ranger was able to offer boys' some of the best reading material on offer, including Richard Armstrong's Carnegie Medal-winning novel Sea Change; its photos, cutaway drawings and heavily illustrated features covered everything from duels in the sky to exploding islands, from James Bond's DB6 to the Mariner Mars expedition.

Compiled by Steve Holland and David Slinn, Ranger: The National Boys' Magazine explores the history and background of the magazine, its contents and its lasting legacy. The book also includes an extensive index to the paper's contents, as well as title and creators' indexes.

To give readers a flavour of the contents, the book also includes the full run of the 'Famous Fighting Aces' feature by Colin Merrett as well as two complete comic strips, 'The Adventures of Macbeth' by Ruggero Giovannini and 'Moby Dick' by Franco Caprioli.

Bear Alley Books has previously published King Solomon's Mines and Treasure Island from the pages of Ranger. Now find out the full story behind this classic of British comics.

Lion King of Picture Story Papers

Lion King of Picture Story Papers

Bear Alley Books proudly presents the second index in our new series charting the history of British comics. Lion King of Picture Story Papers is a massive, 262-page volume covering the story of one of the most popular titles released in the post-Second World War "silver age" of British comics. Launched in 1952, Lion was Amalgamated Press's answer to Eagle, featuring its own space hero, Captain Condor on its cover.

This was one of the company's first adventure story comics and its twenty-two-year history is the story of British adventure strips in the 1950s and 1960s. Over the years Lion starred some of the most popular characters in British comics, including Robot Archie, Paddy Payne, Karl the Viking, Zip Nolan, The Spider, The Spellbinder, Black Max and Adam Eterno. 290 authors and artists are identified in the index which also covers the Lion Annual, Lion Holiday Special and Lion and Valiant Special Extra.

Heavily illustrated throughout, Lion King of Picture Story Papers includes a lengthy historical introduction, an index to the weekly comic covering comics, text stories and features, contents listings for all 35 Lion Annuals and spin-off annuals, all 17 Lion Holiday Specials and Lion and Valiant Special Extras and includes a title index and creator's index.

Author Steve Holland began writing about British comics over thirty years ago, writing or co-writing a series of indexes between 1990-97. These are now being re-released by Bear Alley Books, thoroughly revised and expanded with a vast amount of new information discovered in the past two decades, alongside a number of previously unpublished indexes. The War Libraries and The Thriller Libraries are already available from Book Palace Books; Hurricane & Champion was published in 2011 by Bear Alley Books.

Peter Jackson's London Is Stranger Than Fiction

In 1948, the London Evening News was looking for a cartoon strip about the curiosities of London in the style of ‘Ripley’s Believe It or Not’. A young artist sent in a few historical drawings with descriptive paragraphs and was invited to call. Asked by the newspaper’s editor whether he knew much about London’s history, 26-year-old Peter Jackson, answered honestly: “Not much!”

But editor Guy Schofield was impressed by the drawings and engaged the artist for a three-week trial run . . . beginning an association with the paper that was to last until the paper folded thirty-one years later.

‘London Is Stranger Than Fiction’ inspired Jackson's life-long fascination with London, its history and its people. The strip revelled in obscure facts about the city, its eccentric inhabitants and forgotten byways. Jackson used his talents as an artist to bring these subjects to life for the entertainment of his readers.

Peter Jackson's London Is Stranger Than Fiction reprints all the strips from two of Jackson's books, London is Stranger Than Fiction and London Explorer, in which Jackson looked at curiosities associated with certain areas of London, from Aldwych to Westminster.

Peter Jackson's London Is Stranger Than Fiction is published in association with Look and Learn, where the Peter Jackson London Collection has recently been completely digitized, with over 20,000 images now available for commercial licensing and print-on-demand. The Collection is also available via The Bridgeman Art Library.

Gwyn Evans: The Lunatic, the Lover and the Poet

Gwyn Evans was one of the most popular authors to write stories featuring Sexton Blake. From his pen flowed two-dozen novels and seventy novelettes featuring the famous detective, each filled with mystery, humour and off-the-wall ideas. Collectors have long-sought his tales of Blake's battles against the Double Four, Mr. Mist, The League of Robin Hood, Miss Death, the Shadow Club and the Onion Men; his Christmas stories were legendary amongst readers and an Xmas yarn from Evans would be a guarantee of a merry, mysterious tale that would entertain and baffle readers at the same time.

But Evans created no characters more remarkable than himself. As a journalist and author, he had a talent that could — and occasionally did — earn him riches and recognition. But his Bohemian lifestyle, a daily round of visiting pubs and parties, meant that earnings were soon spent, deadlines were missed and his typewriter often pawned in order to buy another beer. He relied on tricks to raise cash, revamped old stories into new ones and was a notorious womaniser. At the same time, while some thought him irresponsible, others saw his other side: a carefree spirit, generous and charitable with whatever money he had. "One of the major tragedies of Bohemia," as one friend recorded.

Gwyn Evans: The Lunatic, the Lover and the Poet charts the ups and downs of Evans's career, cut tragically short at the age of 39.

As well as revealing the story of Evans' remarkable life, this volume also includes three short stories—"The Idol of Isis", Evans' first foray into fiction, "Hang It All!", a tale with a twist about how a murderer meets his fate, and "Kensington Cavalcade", a romantic rumination on the naming of a famous London tavern—and two previously unpublished poems.   

The book is illustrated with a superb selection of illustrations and book covers from the golden era of "pulp" crime illustration in the 1920s and 1930s. Artists include Leo Bates, Kenneth Brookes, Scott Calder, Tom Cottrell, F. R. Hibbs, F. E. Hiley, E. F. Hiscocks, Arthur Jones, Warwick W. Lendon, Jack Long, G. P. Micklewright, Eric R. Parker, Frank Pashley, Leonard Potts, J. H. Valda and H. G. Wolfe.

Mean Streetmaps

Mean Streetmaps

SOLD OUT!

Bear Alley Books is proud to announce the publication of Mean Streetmaps, a collection of essays on crime noir ranging from the origins of hard-boiled writing in the pages of Black Mask, the novels of James M. Cain, W. R. Burnett and Mickey Spillane—and of their British copyists Ben Sarto, 'Griff' and Dail Ambler—to the movies of Joe Eszterhas and David Fincher. This eclectic collection also includes essays on the crime novels and movies of Hollywood's worst director, Edward D. Wood, Len Deighton's Harry Palmer novels, Sexton Blake's infamous nemesis, Zenith the Albino, and a new take on George Orwell's classic essay 'Raffles and Miss Blandish'.

Contents

Some Rats Have Two Legs [Griff] (available on Kindle)
"Let Me Die in Drag" [Edward D. Wood's crime films and novels]
You the Jury: Joe Eszterhas
Raffles and Richard Allen [George Orwell vs. Skinhead] (available on Kindle)
The Lady Holds a Gun [Dail Ambler] (a much expanded version is now available in Forgotten Authors Volume 1)
Deadline for Crime [Duncan Webb fights the prostitute rackets]
In Self Defence [Pete Costello obscenity case] (available on Kindle)
Restless Predators [British gangsters]
Mean Streetmaps (available on Kindle as Hard-Boiled: Black Mask, Carroll John Daly and the Origins of Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction)
Waiting for Darkness [W. R. Burnett] (available on Kindle)
You the Jury: Mickey Spillane
Twisted Hopes and Crooked Dreams [James M. Cain's Double Indemnity]
White Hunter, Black Heart (expanded version available on Kindle as Zenith: Prince of Chaos)
"Ferociously Cool" [Len Deighton's Harry Palmer]
You the Jury: David Fincher
"I Kill 'Em Inch by Inch!" [Ben Sarto] (available on Kindle)

Reviews

"Given his personal sphere of interest, he is, as to be expected, always interesting and highly informative on the pulp underbrush of crime fiction as cultivated by such names as ‘Griff’, Ben Sarto and Dail Ambler – and if those names mean nothing to you, don’t worry about it; you are not alone. Expanding into more classical noir crime fiction, Holland also pens very decent essays on James M. Cain, Caroll John Daly and Black Mask magazine and first rate ones on W. R. Burnett and Mickey Spillane – of whom you certainly should have heard."—Mike Ripley, Getting Away With Murder, June 2011.