tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post2625541474577292875..comments2024-03-18T11:01:42.459-05:00Comments on Pretty Sinister Books: FFB: Journey Downstairs - R. PhilmoreJ F Norrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-9982675002686308022019-02-05T11:26:13.260-06:002019-02-05T11:26:13.260-06:00I've read and reviewed Death under Sail on thi...I've read and reviewed <a href="https://prettysinister.blogspot.com/2016/05/tuesday-club-death-under-sail-c-p-snow.html" rel="nofollow"><i>Death under Sail</i></a> on this blog. It's a superior detective novel with some scenes of farcical humor and satire. I've never read any of Snow's mainstream fiction. But he does indeed have a sense of humor in his first detective novel. Late in his life he wrote another mystery novel (<i>A Coat of Varnish</i>) that someday I'll have to read.<br /><br />CLearly you paid no attention to my feelings about digging up the past. "It might be worth looking into..." has no appeal to me. Unless you're addressing others who might stumble across these comments, but I wouldn't count on it these days. As the Time's Up and #MeToo movements have reminded us no one can ever escape their past. Such was the case for Howard. The exact dates of his "scandalous" behavior make no difference. When his secret was out, he was ruined. And that's all I have to say about Howard and his "secret." Let the poor dead man rest in peace.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-16260571808916862362019-02-05T11:07:36.796-06:002019-02-05T11:07:36.796-06:00Most of his later books were published by Collins ...Most of his later books were published by Collins Crime Club if you bothered to look at the illustrations and publications dates. Gollancz only published his first three detective novels of the total seven. Knowing what the scandal entailed (which I have no intention of going into) I sincerely doubt Gollancz would have published anything, new pseudonym or not. Curt has already informed me of the details and it is, as I suspected, something horribly taboo. Howard ended up leaving England in disgrace and settling in a different country.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-44939288041115966372019-02-05T05:33:32.932-06:002019-02-05T05:33:32.932-06:00...more info with date of death: "R. Philmore......more info with date of death: "R. Philmore was the pseudonym of Herbert Edmund Howard (1900-63), and his protagonist, an amateur detective named C. J. Swan, was reputedly based on his close friend C. P. Snow. Scarce in this condition with the dust jacket." William Amos in The Originals says Howard was also the model for George Passant in Snow's Strangers and Brothers roman-fleuve. https://www.peterharrington.co.uk/journey-downstairs.html<br />Snow's first novel, Death Under Sail, was a detective story. It was published by Penguin, so should be easy to find, though - going by his later books - Snow didn't have much sense of humour.<br /><br />According to http://www.crimefictioniv.com/Part_28.html<br />"PHILMORE, R. Herbert Edmund Howard, 1900-1963. Born in Norfolk, moved to Leicestershire where he was a school history master for 40 years; well-known broadcaster and scriptwriter, often appearing on the “Round Britain Quiz” radio program."<br />If that's correct, and it doesn't refer to another Howard, the scandal can't have been too damaging.<br />In C.P. Snow: The Dynamics of Hope By Nicolas Tredell there is more information on Howard, but the scandal it mentions must have been much later if the contributor to Round Britain Quiz was Snow's teacher: he was still appearing in 1962 https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbchomeservice/basic/1962-11-28 . It might be worth looking at other books on Snow or Alderman Newton's School if you want to go further. <br /><br />Roger Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11012987757094423896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-22172878129206468152019-02-05T04:34:28.341-06:002019-02-05T04:34:28.341-06:00H.E. Howard stopped writing in 1940 as well as Phi...H.E. Howard stopped writing in 1940 as well as Philmore, but that needn't have ended the Philmore books - another Gollancz author, "Cameron McCabe", remained unidentified for many years. Even if Howard was revealed as Philmore, Gollancx was famously left-wing and progressive, so would probably have been happy to publish him with another pseudonym. Roger Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11012987757094423896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-11586675746650844152019-02-04T14:57:46.352-06:002019-02-04T14:57:46.352-06:00I'll send you an email!I'll send you an email!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-91700064260811997162019-02-04T10:01:35.642-06:002019-02-04T10:01:35.642-06:00You must have found those books years ago or have ...You must have found those books years ago or have some sort of secret pipeline to extremely scarce books.<br /><br />I can't find a damn word written about Howard's life anywhere. I had to do intense sleuthing and internet searching just to find his writing outside of detective fiction. How on earth could this "scandal" intimidate publishers from reprinting his books? Not a word about him can be read unless it's mentioned in some obscure newspaper article or in some other writer's biography. I have a feeling what it must be since you mention Murder in the Closet. Don't get me started on my outrage about people digging up the past, making "secrets" public, wrecking careers and lives, and ruining reputations. I'm going to go into a corner and seethe a little.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-87435463294898884472019-02-04T07:25:04.374-06:002019-02-04T07:25:04.374-06:00P. S., I had him in mind if there's ever a Mur...P. S., I had him in mind if there's ever a Murder in the Closet 2! ;)The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-60312401778733867762019-02-04T07:03:37.685-06:002019-02-04T07:03:37.685-06:00Philmore presents a problem perhaps for publishers...Philmore presents a problem perhaps for publishers because of a scandal in his background, one that would prove quite offputting to potential readers. I've put off writing about it, but maybe I should now. It's been kind of lurking back there. <br /><br />I managed actually to track down four of his books!The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-24080270940608402782019-02-01T13:41:37.218-06:002019-02-01T13:41:37.218-06:00I can't disagree with you more, Rick. I am con...I can't disagree with you more, Rick. I am continually amazed by the choices of some of these reprint publishers. Two of them choose some of the most off-the-wall, forgotten writers who write formulaic books unworthy of rediscovery. Then there's something as sophisticated and witty with an iconoclastic worldview as this that was lauded by insightful critics like L.A.G. Strong (no mean writer of detective novels himself) and it languishes in the limbo of out-of-printdom. In my opinion the books that deserve to be reprinted are those that distinguish themselves from formulaic dull stories with imaginative plots and advanced observations for the time that will resonate with modern readers. I'm tired of quaint country house detective novels flooding the market. Give me a book like this that deals with prostitution in pre-WW2 era England any day over that fodder! Most importantly books that deserve reprinting should be those that are next to impossible to find in used book market. How else are you guaranteed sales? Your edition should be the only one people will find when they go looking to buy, right? But my clamoring and common sense approach continues to fall on deaf ears.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787364257168822822.post-50260451080721675542019-02-01T12:09:53.379-06:002019-02-01T12:09:53.379-06:00Wonderful review of what sounds to be a fascinatin...Wonderful review of what sounds to be a fascinating book, if dated in style and plot. Too bad it's unavailable, along with the rest. I'm not sure what the chances of a book or series like this are to become republished in print or an ebook.Rick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.com