Patrick Hamilton (writer)
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Anthony Walter Patrick Hamilton (17 March 1904 – 23 September 1962) was an English playwright and novelist. He was well regarded by
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 novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...
and J. B. Priestley, and study of his novels has been revived because of their distinctive style, deploying a Dickensian narrative voice to convey aspects of inter-war London street culture. They display a strong sympathy for the poor, as well as an acerbic black humour.
Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing ( Tayler; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British novelist. She was born to British parents in Qajar Iran, Persia, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where ...
wrote in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' in 1968: "Hamilton was a marvellous novelist who's grossly neglected". His two most successful plays, ''
Rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
'' (1929) and ''
Gas Light ''Gas Light'' is a 1938 thriller play, set in 1880s London, written by the British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton's play is a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his w ...
'' (1938), were made into famous films: Alfred Hitchcock's ''
Rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
'' (1948); the UK-made '' Gaslight'' (1940), followed by the 1944 American version.


Life and works

Hamilton was born on 17 March 1904, at Dale House, in the
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
village of Hassocks, near
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, to (Walter) Bernard Hamilton (1863-1930), a writer and non-practising barrister, and his second wife, Ellen Adèle (née Hockley; 1861-1934), who wrote as "Olivia Roy". His parents were pretentious and snobbish; Bernard Hamilton thought himself to be "a great writer although the few books he penned — soppy romances and some hotchpotch of religion and spirituality — were mediocre at best", "frequently boasted about his genealogical table", and "pretended to be the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland", and Ellen "treated her domestics with haughtiness" and "attempted to breed her children as members of the high society". Due to his father's alcoholism and financial ineptitude, the family spent much of Hamilton's childhood living in boarding houses in
Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...
and
Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...
. His education was patchy, and ended just after his fifteenth birthday when his mother withdrew him from
Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
. His first published work was a poem, "Heaven", in the ''
Poetry Review ''The Poetry Review'' is the magazine of The Poetry Society, edited by the poet Wayne Holloway-Smith. Founded in 1912, shortly after the establishment of the Society, previous editors have included poets Muriel Spark, Adrian Henri, Andrew Mo ...
'' in 1919. His sister Lalla, acted under the name of Diana Hamilton and starred in Sutton Vane's '' Outward Bound''. After a brief career as an actor, he became a novelist in his early twenties with the publication of ''Monday Morning'' (1925), written when he was nineteen. ''Craven House'' (1926) and ''Twopence Coloured'' (1928) followed, but his first real success was the play ''
Rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
'' (1929, known as ''Rope's End'' in America). ''The Midnight Bell'' (1929) is based upon Hamilton's falling in love with a prostitute and was later published along with ''The Siege of Pleasure'' (1932) and ''The Plains of Cement'' (1934) as the semi-autobiographical trilogy '' Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky'' (1935). Hamilton disliked many aspects of modern life. He was disfigured badly when he was run over by a car in the late 1920s: the end of his novel '' Mr. Stimpson and Mr. Gorse'' (1953), with its vision of England smothered in metal beetles, reflects his loathing of the motor car. Despite some distaste for the culture in which he operated, however, he was a popular contributor to it. His two most successful plays, ''
Rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
'' and ''
Gas Light ''Gas Light'' is a 1938 thriller play, set in 1880s London, written by the British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton's play is a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his w ...
'' (1938, known as '' Angel Street'' in the US), made Hamilton wealthy and were also successful as films: the British-made '' Gaslight'' (1940), the 1944 American adaptation of ''Gaslight'', and Alfred Hitchcock's ''
Rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
'' (1948). '' Hangover Square'' (1941) is often judged his most accomplished work and still sells well in paperback, and is regarded by contemporary authors such as Iain Sinclair and
Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...
as an important part of the tradition of London novels. Set in Earls Court where Hamilton himself lived, it deals with both alcohol-drinking practices of the time and the underlying political context, such as the rise of
fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
and responses to it. Hamilton became an avowed
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
, though not a publicly declared member of the Communist Party. During the 1930s, like many other authors, Hamilton grew increasingly angry with capitalism and believed that the violence and fascism of Europe during the period indicated that capitalism was reaching its end. This encouraged his Marxism and his novel ''Impromptu in Moribundia'' (1939) was a satirical attack on capitalist culture. During his later life, Hamilton developed in his writing a misanthropic authorial voice which became more disillusioned, cynical and bleak as time passed. '' The Slaves of Solitude'' (1947) was his only work to deal directly with the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and he preferred to look back to the pre-war years. His '' Gorse Trilogy'' – three novels about a devious sexual predator and conman – are not generally well thought of critically, although Graham Greene said that the first was 'the best book written about Brighton' and the second (''Mr. Stimpson and Mr. Gorse'') is regarded increasingly as a comic masterpiece. The hostile and negative tone of the novels is also attributed to Hamilton's depression and disenchantment with the utopianism of Marxism. The trilogy comprises: ''The West Pier'' (1952); ''Mr. Stimpson and Mr. Gorse'' (1953), dramatized as '' The Charmer'' in 1987; and in 1955 Hamilton's last published work, ''Unknown Assailant'', a short novel much of which was dictated while Hamilton was drunk. ''The Gorse Trilogy'' was first published in a single volume in 1992. Hamilton had begun to consume alcohol excessively while still a relatively young man. After a declining career and melancholia, he died in 1962 of cirrhosis of the liver and kidney failure, in
Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is a seaside town and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. He was married twice, firstly to Lois Marie Martin in 1930, and a year after divorcing Lois, to Lady Ursula Chetwynd-Talbot (a novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Laura Talbot) in 1954. A collection of Hamilton's manuscripts and correspondence can be found at the
Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...
at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
.


Bibliography


Novels

* ''Monday Morning'' (1925) * ''Craven House'' (1926, revised edition 1943) * ''Twopence Coloured'' (1928) * ''The Midnight Bell'' (1929) * ''The Siege of Pleasure'' (1932) * ''The Plains of Cement'' (1934) * '' Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky'' (1935 – trilogy of ''The Midnight Bell'', ''The Siege of Pleasure'' and ''The Plains of Cement'') * ''Impromptu in Moribundia'' (1939) * '' Hangover Square'' (1941) * '' The Slaves of Solitude'' (1947) * '' The West Pier'' (1952) * '' Mr. Stimpson and Mr. Gorse'' (1953) * ''Unknown Assailant'' (1955)


Stage plays

* ''
Rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
'' (1929) * ''The Procurator of Judea'' (1930; unpublished) * ''John Brown's Body'' (1931; unpublished) * ''
Gas Light ''Gas Light'' is a 1938 thriller play, set in 1880s London, written by the British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton's play is a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his w ...
'' (1938), also known as ''Angel Street'' * '' The Duke in Darkness'' (1943) * ''The Governess'' (1946; unpublished) * ''Caller Anonymous'' (1952; unpublished) * ''The Man Upstairs'' (1953) * ''Miss Roach'' (1958; unpublished) * ''Hangover Square'' (1965; unpublished)


Radio plays

* ''Rope''. BBC National Programme, 18 January 1932. Adapted from the stage play qv * ''Conversation in a Train''. BBC Regional Programme. 2 June 1936 * ''Money with Menaces''. BBC National Programme, 4 January 1937 * '' To the Public Danger''. BBC National Programme, 25 February 1939 * ''
Gas Light ''Gas Light'' is a 1938 thriller play, set in 1880s London, written by the British novelist and playwright Patrick Hamilton. Hamilton's play is a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his w ...
''. BBC Home Service, 24 November 1939. Adapted from the play qv * ''This is Impossible''. BBC Home Service, 27 December 1941 * ''The Duke in Darkness''. 17 April 1944. Adapted from the stage play qv * ''The Governess''. BBC Home Service, 1 November 1948. Adapted from the stage play qv * ''Caller Anonymous''. BBC Home Service, 7 March 1952 * ''20,000 Streets Under the Sky''. BBC Radio 4, 17 Nov 1989


Recent revival

Hamilton was the subject of a special season of films in March 2005 at the National Film Theatre in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and continuing the strong revival of interest in his work the British TV channel
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
screened an adaptation of '' 20,000 Streets Under the Sky'' in September 2005, reshown on
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
in January 2006, alongside a documentary account of his life. The adaptation was released on DVD in 2007. A one-man show about Hamilton's life appeared in the Edinburgh Festival in 2014 and the Brighton Fringe Festival in 2015 and in London, written and performed by Mark Farrelly and called ''The Silence of Snow: the Life of Patrick Hamilton''.


References


Further reading

* Hamilton, Bruce. (1972) ''The Light Went Out: The Life of Patrick Hamilton'', Constable, * Jones, Nigel. (1991) ''Through a Glass Darkly: The Life of Patrick Hamilton'', Scribners, * French, Sean. (1993) ''Patrick Hamilton: A Life'', Faber and Faber,


External links


Patrick Hamilton Collection
at the
Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...
at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

Black Spring Press
New publishers of The Gorse Trilogy and Craven House
Constable & Robinson
Patrick Hamilton's original UK publisher, and current publisher of ''The Slaves of Solitude''
New York Review of Books Classics
American reissues of ''Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky'' and ''The Slaves of Solitude''
The lost worlds of Patrick Hamilton
a review in th
TLS
16 May 2007 * —Review of ''The Slaves of Solitude'' * A biography can be found a
www.allmovie.com
* * * —Review of ''The Midnight Bell'' * —Article on Hamilton's screen adaptations
Article on Hamilton revival

Essay on Hamilton's treatment of London pub culture

"The lost worlds of Patrick Hamilton"
D. J. Taylor's introduction to the Gorse Trilogy fro
TLS
16 May 2007.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Patrick People educated at Westminster School, London People from Hassocks Alcohol-related deaths in England 1904 births 1962 deaths Deaths from cirrhosis Deaths from kidney failure in the United Kingdom 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists History of mental health in the United Kingdom People from Sheringham 20th-century English male writers English satirists English satirical novelists