Hemlock and After
First UK edition (publ. Secker & Warburg)
Cover art by Ronald Searle
Cover art by Ronald Searle
Hemlock and After is a 1952 novel by British writer Angus Wilson; it was his first published novel after a series of short stories. The novel offers a candid portrayal of gay life in post-World War II England.
Plot introduction
Bernard Sands, a prominent writer who has been given financial aid to start a writer's colony at Vardon Hall, faces a failing marriage, attempts to come to grips with his homosexuality and lives next door to a procuress for pedophiles.
Characters in "Hemlock and After"
- Bernard Sands, the protagonist; a homosexual.
- Ella, Bernard's wife.
- Elizabeth, the Sands's daughter.
- James, the Sands's son.
- Charles, a friend of Bernard's; a senior civil servant.
- Mrs Curry, the Sands's neighbour; a procuress for pedophiles.
- Hubert Rose, an architect and a pedophile.
References to other works
- Angus Wilson said in an interview that the ending of the novel was Dickensian.[1]
Trivia
The novel was written in only four weeks.[1]