David Britton (18 February 1945 – 29 December 2020) was a British author, artist, and publisher. In the 1970s he founded ''Weird Fantasy'' and ''Crucified Toad'', a series of

small press A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. However, when a distinction ...

magazines of the

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

and

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

genres. In 1976, Britton and Michael Butterworth co-founded the publishing house Savoy Books.

Biography

Britton was a student at

St John's College, Durham St John's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. The college was established in 1909 as a Church of England theological college and became a full constituent college of th ...

, graduating in 1969 with a degree in Education. In 1976, Britton founded the publisher and distributor Savoy Books with Michael Butterworth, who he had met in the early seventies. At the time, Britton was running the bookshop The House on the Borderland in Manchester. In 1989, Britton wrote ''Lord Horror'' published by Savoy Books, a dystopian horror with a central character based on Nazi collaborator

William Joyce William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946), nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born Fascism, fascist and Propaganda of Nazi Germany, Nazi propaganda broadcaster during the World War II, Second World War. After moving from ...

, also known as

Lord Haw-Haw Lord Haw-Haw was a nickname applied to William Joyce and several other people who broadcast Nazi propaganda to the United Kingdom from Germany during the Second World War. The broadcasts opened with "Germany calling, Germany calling," spoken i ...

. This became the last publication to be banned under the United Kingdom's

Obscene Publications Act Since 1857, a series of obscenity laws known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published in England and Wales. The classic definition of criminal obscenity is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt," stated in 1868 by Lord ...

in 1992, with Britton serving a jail term at

HM Prison Manchester HM Prison Manchester is a Category A and B men's prison in Manchester, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It is still commonly referred to as Strangeways, which was its former official name derived from the area in which it is l ...

. The ruling was later overturned on appeal after a defence led by human rights barrister

Geoffrey Robertson Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is an Australian-British barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. Robertson is a founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. He serves as a Master of the Bench at the Middle T ...

. Copies of the book which had been seized were not returned. A graphic novel adaptation of the book also remained banned.

Work

Britton was the creator and scriptwriter of the ''Lord Horror'' and ''

Meng and Ecker ''Meng and Ecker'' was a British underground comic written by David Britton and illustrated by Kris Guidio.Greenland, Colin (March 12, 2003). "The Thursday Book: A Wallow In The Sump Of The Popular Psyche". ''The Independent''. Comment; Pg. 21 It ...

'' comics published by Savoy. These characters also appear in a trio of novels written by Britton: ''Lord Horror'', ''Motherfuckers: The Auschwitz of Oz'', and ''Baptised in the Blood of Millions''. "''Lord Horror''," Britton said, "was so unique and radical, I expected to go to prison for it. I always thought that if you wrote a truly dangerous book -- something dangerous would happen to you. Which is one reason there are so few really dangerous books around. Publishers play at promoting dangerous books, whether they're

Serpent's Tail Serpent's Tail is London-based independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It specialises in publishing work in translation, particularly European crime fiction. In January 2007, it was bought by a British publisher Profile Book ...

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

. All you get is a book vetted by committee, never anything radically imaginative or offensive that will take your fucking head off. Ironically, I think it would do other authors a power of good if they had to account for their books by going to prison -- there are far too many bad books being published!" According to

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

, ''Lord Horror'' series is the only "alternate history" to confront "Nazism with appropriate originality and passion."

Influence

Keith Seward has produced a book looking at the Lord Horror stories called ''Horror Panegyric'' which features excerpts as well as a prologue examining the tales.

Publications

* ''Lord Horror'' (1989, Savoy Books) - Butterworth edited and provided text * ''Lord Horror: Reverbstorm No.12'' (1996, Savoy Books) * ''Motherfuckers: The Auschwitz of Oz'' (1996) * ''Baptised in the Blood of Millions'' (2001)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, David 1945 births 2020 deaths 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists British alternative history writers British comics writers Keytarists British male novelists 20th-century British male writers 21st-century British male writers Alumni of St John's College, Durham Obscenity controversies in comics Obscenity controversies in literature Overturned convictions in England Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales