Phyllis Paul

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Phyllis Paul (1903 - 1973) was an English novelist. [1]

Contents

Career

She published eleven novels between 1933 and 1967 [2] She herself considered that the first two, We Are Spoiled and The Children Triumphant, the second of which was published in 1934, were juvenilia and her later novels did not list them. [3] Her first two novels were published by Martin Secker, but her subsequent books by Heinemann. [4] Her mature works have been described as "literary supernatural thrillers", [5] "masterly in their handling of their plots". [6] She has been described as a "subtle novelist, her work invok[ing] an atmosphere of the supernatural and often allow[ing] for a supernatural interpretation", [7] and as "writ[ing] out of a coherent and consistent imagination". [8]

Death and Legacy

Paul died on August 30, 1973 [9] when she was struck by a motorcycle while crossing the road in Hastings, her identity only ascertained thanks to a tag on her handkerchief. [10] Her heir was her friend Lydia M. Lee, whose estate was left to her niece. [1] Her novels fell out of print after her death, and copies became later prized by collectors, selling for hundreds of dollars. [11] [12] In 2012 A Cage for the Nightingale was republished by Sundial Press [13] and Twice Lost by McNally Editions in 2023. [11] [12]

Works

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References

  1. 1 2 Valentine, Mark (25 January 2019). "The Last, Lost Novel of Phyllis Paul". Wormwoodiana. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  2. ↑ . "Phyllis Paul Simon & Schuster Official Author Page". Simon & Schuster Website. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Cavaliero, Glen (1984). "The Novels of Phyllis Paul" (PDF). The Powys Review. IVii (14): 10. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  4. ↑ . "Phyllis Paul Bibliography". Classic Crime Fiction. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  5. ↑ Brend, Mark (6 July 2019). "Undercliff, Mark Brend and the Olive Grove cult". The Haunted Generation (Interview). Interviewed by Bob Fischer. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Cavaliero, Glen (1984). "The Novels of Phyllis Paul" (PDF). The Powys Review. IVii (14): 9. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Russell, Ray (23 April 2008). "Phyllis Paul". A Guide to Supernatural Fiction. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Cavaliero, Glen (1995). The Supernatural and English Fiction. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 173. ISBN   978-0192126078.
  9. ↑ "Summary Bibliography: Phyllis Paul". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Cavaliero, Glen (1995). The Supernatural and English Fiction. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 259. ISBN   978-0192126078.
  11. 1 2 "Twice Lost". Simon and Schuster Website. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  12. 1 2 Dirda, Michael (27 October 2023). "Let's talk about our favorite ghost stories". The Washington Post. Washington, DC, USA. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  13. ↑ Lock, Charles (2013). "Women's Writing: The Ways and Wiles of Obscurity". The Powys Journal. 23: 183–191. JSTOR   26106515 . Retrieved 17 November 2023.
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