Bertram John Boland (12 February 1913 – 9 November 1976) was an English novelist and science fiction author.
Boland was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, but later lived in
East Sussex
East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
, on the edge of
Ashdown Forest
Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald National Landscape. It is situated south of London in the county East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation
of above sea level, its ...
with his wife, Philippa.
[Biography and bibliography taken from the dust jacket of The Gentlemen at Large. Published by Forest House Books.]
His most well known book was ''
The League of Gentlemen
''The League of Gentlemen'' is a British surreal comedy horror series that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the lives ...
'' (1958) which was released as a
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
. However, characters' names and the ending were changed.
[The book ends with the main character shooting himself. In the film, he gives himself up to the police.] He wrote two sequels:
* ''The Gentlemen Reform (1961)''
* ''The Gentlemen at Large (1962)''
They continued with the characterisations developed in the film.
His first novel "White August" (1955) was a science fiction weather control disaster story. His second, "No Refuge" (1956) begins as a bank robbery crime story but them changes into science fiction, depicting a futuristic lost world.
[SF Encyclopedia]
John Boland In this world children get much of their education from computers and adults walk around with a small device on their chest, listening to music through earpieces.
[John Boland (1956) "No Refuge" (Michael Joseph, London) pages 107 and 66 respectively]
As well as novels, he published short stories in science fiction magazines, including
Galaxy Science Fiction
''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edi ...
and
New Worlds.
[
Boland was closely involved with ]Swanwick writers' summer school
The Swanwick Writers' Summer School is an annual writers' conference held at The Hayes Conference Centre, near Swanwick, Derbyshire. Founded in 1948, and first held in the summer of 1949, it is believed to be the oldest independent writers' sc ...
becoming its chairman in 1958
Bibliography
Source:
Fiction
* ''White August'' (Michael Joseph: 1955)
* ''No Refuge'' (Michael Joseph: 1956)
* ''Queer Fish'' (Boardman: 1958)
* ''The League of Gentlemen'' (Boardman: 1958)
* ''Mysterious Way'' (Boardman: 1959)
* ''Operation Red Carpet'' (Boardman: 1959)
* ''Bitter Fortune'' (Boardman: 1959)
* ''The Midas Touch'' (Boardman: 1960)
* ''Negative Value'' (Boardman: 1960)
* ''The Gentlemen Reform'' (Boardman: 1961)
* ''Inside Job'' (Boardman: 1961)
* ''The Golden Fleece'' (Boardman: 1961)
* ''Vendetta'' (Boardman: 1961)
* ''The Gentlemen at Large'' (Boardman: 1962)
* ''Fatal Error'' (Boardman: 1962)
* ''Counterpol'' (Harrap: 1963)
* ''The Catch'' (Harrap: 1964)
* ''Counterpol in Paris'' (Harrap: 1964)
* ''The Good Citizens'' (Harrap: 1965)
* ''The Disposal Unit'' (Harrap: 1966)
* ''The Gusher'' (Harrap: 1967)
* ''Painted Lady'' (Cassell: 1967)
* ''Breakdown'' (Cassell: 1968)
* ''The Fourth Grave'' (Cassell: 1969)
* ''The Shakespeare Curse'' (Cassell: 1969)
* ''Kidnap'' (Cassell: 1970)
* ''The Big Job'' (Cassell: 1970)
* ''The Trade of Kings'' (Forest House: 1972)
* ''Holocaust'' (Futura: 1974)
Nonfiction
* ''Free-Lance Journalism''
* ''Short Story Writing''
Notes
References
*
External links
*
1913 births
1976 deaths
English science fiction writers
20th-century English novelists
English male novelists
20th-century English male writers
English male non-fiction writers
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