''South Wind'' is a 1917 novel by British author

Norman Douglas George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel '' South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing. ...

.''South Wind''
''Literary Encyclopedia''. It is Douglas's most famous book and his only success as a novelist. It is set on an imaginary island called Nepenthe, located off the coast of Italy in the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

, a thinly fictionalized description of

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has be ...

's residents and visitors. The narrative concerns twelve days during which Thomas Heard, a bishop returning to England from his diocese in Africa, yields his moral vigour to various influences. Philosophical

hedonism Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decr ...

pervades much of Douglas's writing, and the novel's discussion of moral and sexual issues caused considerable debate. The South Wind of the title is the

Sirocco Sirocco ( ), scirocco, or, rarely, siroc (see below) is a Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can reach hurricane speeds in North Africa and Southern Europe, especially during the summer season. Names ''Sirocco'' derives from ...

, which wreaks havoc with the islanders' sense of decency and morality. Much of the natural detail in the book is provided by Capri and other Mediterranean locations that Douglas knew well. The island's name Nepenthe denotes a drug of Egyptian origin (mentioned in the

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...

) which was capable of banishing grief or trouble from the mind. The novel was written in Capri and in London, and after its publication in June 1917 it went through seven editions rapidly, achieving startling large-scale success. Critics at the time complained about the lack of a well-constructed plot. The book was adapted for the stage in London in 1923 by Isabel C. Tippett, and

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

considered the possibility of writing a film script based on it. In

Dorothy Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

's 1926 detective novel '' Clouds of Witness'',

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A dilettante who solves mysteries fo ...

goes through the possessions of a murdered man – a young British man living in Paris, whose morality had been put in question. Finding a copy of ''South Wind'' Wimsey remarks "Our young friend works out very true to type". In

Robert McAlmon Robert Menzies McAlmon (also used Robert M. McAlmon, as his signature name, March 9, 1895 – February 2, 1956) was an American writer, poet, and publisher. In the 1920s, he founded in Paris the publishing house, Contact Editions, where he publ ...

's ''Being Geniuses Together'', he mentions meeting Norman Douglas in Venice in 1924, by which time he says ''South Wind'' was a minor classic. Apparently when sales continued for years afterwards, Douglas, to whom only a small amount was paid to begin with, received no further payments.McAlmon, Robert, ''Being Geniuses Together 1920-1930'' (revised edition with additional chapters by Kay Boyle), North Point Press, San Francisco, 1984, p. 134

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

''South Wind''
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

. 1917 British novels Capri, Campania Campania in fiction Novels set in Italy {{1910s-novel-stub