Michael Nelson (novelist)

Michael Nelson (1921-1990) was a British novelist best known for his 1958 gay novel A Room in Chelsea Square, originally published anonymously.^[1][2]

Early and personal life

Born in 1921, Nelson was a journalist before the World War II. He was the secretary to publisher John Lehmann during the war and served as a captain in the Royal Army Service Corps. Nelson later owned a bookstore in Winchester where he lived with his then-boyfriend. Nelson married Rachel Holland, who knew he was gay, and they remained married the rest of their lives. Nelson died in 1990.^[3]

Writing

Nelson’s first novel Knock or Ring (1957), which drew from his own experiences, was about a "ring" of booksellers who conspired to fix auctions.^[3] It received good reviews, but was never reprinted until its 2013 Valancourt Books edition.^[3][4]

Due to its explicit homosexual content, his second book, A Room in Chelsea Square (1958), was published anonymously.^[1][2] It is about a wealthy gentleman who lures an attractive younger man to London with the promise of an upper crust lifestyle and has been called a "gay classic."^[3][5] It has been reprinted several times.^[1] The 2013 Valancourt edition features a new introduction by Gregory Woods.^[1][6]

Nelson's other books are Blanket (1959) (published under the pseudonym "Henry Stratton"), When the Bed Broke (1961), Captain Blossom (1973), Captain Blossom Soldiers On (1974), Nobs & Snobs (1976), Captain Blossom in Civvy Street (1978), and Fear No More (1989).^[3]

References