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The Book of Forgotten Authors
On sale
5th October 2017
Price: £19.99
‘Joyous . . . fascinating’ Cathy Rentzenbrink
‘I love it! A real gem’ Joanne Harris
‘Will have the inevitable effect of sending readers in search of these intriguing lost names’ Barry Forshaw
Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. It makes people think you’re dead.
So begins Christopher Fowler’s foray into the back catalogues and backstories of 99 authors who, once hugely popular, have all but disappeared from our shelves.
Whether male or female, domestic or international, flash-in-the-pan or prolific, mega-seller or prize-winner – no author, it seems, can ever be fully immune from the fate of being forgotten. And Fowler, as well as remembering their careers, lifts the lid on their lives, and why they often stopped writing or disappeared from the public eye.
These 99 journeys are punctuated by 12 short essays about faded once-favourites: including the now-vanished novels Walt Disney brought to the screen, the contemporary rivals of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie who did not stand the test of time, and the women who introduced us to psychological suspense many decades before it conquered the world.
This is a book about books and their authors. It is for book lovers, and is written by one who could not be a more enthusiastic, enlightening and entertaining guide.
(P)2017 Quercus Editions Ltd
‘I love it! A real gem’ Joanne Harris
‘Will have the inevitable effect of sending readers in search of these intriguing lost names’ Barry Forshaw
Absence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder. It makes people think you’re dead.
So begins Christopher Fowler’s foray into the back catalogues and backstories of 99 authors who, once hugely popular, have all but disappeared from our shelves.
Whether male or female, domestic or international, flash-in-the-pan or prolific, mega-seller or prize-winner – no author, it seems, can ever be fully immune from the fate of being forgotten. And Fowler, as well as remembering their careers, lifts the lid on their lives, and why they often stopped writing or disappeared from the public eye.
These 99 journeys are punctuated by 12 short essays about faded once-favourites: including the now-vanished novels Walt Disney brought to the screen, the contemporary rivals of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie who did not stand the test of time, and the women who introduced us to psychological suspense many decades before it conquered the world.
This is a book about books and their authors. It is for book lovers, and is written by one who could not be a more enthusiastic, enlightening and entertaining guide.
(P)2017 Quercus Editions Ltd
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Reviews
A godsend with the present season approaching . . . it's hard to believe that anyone who loves fiction of all genres wouldn't be completely won over by this treasure-filled book about books.
A real gem, filled with old favourites and new discoveries, and written in a light, snappy, erudite tone, as satisfying as a full English breakfast at your local art-house cafe.
A sheer joy. This is a lovely but dangerous book as I've already added some new names to my wants list.
Christopher fowler has done us a great service . . . reading about the lives and works of these authors - many madly eccentric - is a joy. Fowler has put in an awesome amount of research and clearly could have created a compelling list that was twice as long.
Full of delights and surprises and will have you hunting down lost masterpieces . . . Totally absorbing.
Glorious . . . A real treat.
A godsend for book lovers if you want to make new discoveries, explore the fertile past and have a yearning for quality and quirk. A wonderful book to dip into and to send you scurrying to the nearest second-hand shelf or internet search machine . . . Hours of fun lie ahead.
A joyous saunter through the lives and words of yesterday's big names. Readers will love this fascinating book.
A treasure trove of trivia . . . Excellent . . . This colourful compendium of literary lives should be read by anyone who loves books.
An enjoyable paperchase after novelists, playwrights and poets who were once much read. Fowler's Forgotten Authors is a book packed with vignettes, amusements and new names to try.
Christopher Fowler's cherishable book is as quirky and mesmerising as one of his novels; his detailed, loving excavation of a slew of unjustly neglected writers will have the inevitable effect of sending readers in search of these intriguing lost names.
Discover brilliant-but-long-lost writers with this pocket-sized delight.
Full of humour and pathos, Christopher Fowler's survey of authors who have fallen into obscurity is a bibliophile's dream.
He reevaluates the reputations of dozens of lost authors with a sharp eye for detail and a dry, mordant wit. He makes you want to rush to your nearest secondhand bookshop and start digging out some of these forgotten authors.
His services to rescuing other writers from oblivion deserve a medal . . . Splendid . . . He has a wonderful talent, actually rather rare among critics, for conveying just what it is about a book that makes it worth reading.
If you've forgotten the voice of your generation, the brilliant Christopher Fowler's The Book of Forgotten Authors will provide you with the necessary reminder.
Informative and enjoyably gossipy.
The perfect guide to finding your next reading obsession . . . the perfect gift for a book-obsessed friend or if you simply want to uncover a hidden gem.
This considered foray into the backlists and backstories of 99 forgotten authors reminds us of how focused we are on the new and the novel. It's fascinating to ponder which of these writers will remain forever in aspic and which might one day be ripe for revival.
Well researched and wide-ranging . . . The Book of Forgotten Authors is a bibliophile's treat written with verve and passion. It will have readers scurrying into secondhand bookshops in search of yellowing paperbacks.