S. Fowler Wright

"Sydney Wright" redirects here. For the Australian footballer, see Syd Wright.
Sydney Fowler Wright
Born (1874-01-06)6 January 1874
Holly Street, [[Smethwick§<ref>http://www.myheritage.com/names/joan_fowler-wright</ref>]], England
Died 25 February 1965(1965-02-25) (aged 91)
Occupation Writer, editor, poet
Nationality British
Genre science fiction, mystery fiction, poetry

Sydney Fowler Wright (6 January 1874 – 25 February 1965) was a prolific British editor, poet, science fiction author, writer of screenplays, mystery fiction and works in other genres, as well as being an accountant and a conservative political activist.[1] He also wrote as Sydney Fowler and Anthony Wingrave.

Youth

S. Fowler Wright was born in Smethwick (then in the Kings Norton registration district), England.[2] Wright left school at eleven, and spent his adolescence studying literature when not working.[3]

Wright married in the Birmingham district in 1895.[4]

Writing career

In 1917, Wright helped found the Empire Poetry League and edited the League's journal, Poetry. Wright used Poetry to publish his translations of Dante's Inferno and Purgatorio.[3]

Wright began writing science fiction in the 1920s. The book Science-Fiction: The Early Years describes Wright as "the major British writer of genre science fiction between Wells and the moderns".[1] His first science fiction novel was The Amphibians (1924), set in a future where humanity has been succeeded by the titular beings.[3] His 1928 novel Deluge, about a flood which devastates Britain, was a success and was later adapted into a Hollywood film of the same title.[5] The Island of Captain Sparrow (1928) was inspired by H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau. Wright's novel features a race of satyr-like beast men persecuted by humans.[3]

Wright was critical of modern industrial civilization, and his 1932 collection The New Gods Lead contained several stories attacking trends Wright disagreed with, including birth control and the motor car (The "New Gods" of the book's title were described by Wright as Comfort and Cowardice).[3][6] The New Gods Lead includes several stories of note, including "The Rat", about a doctor who discovers an immortality serum, and "P.N. 40", which is set in a repressive future controlled by supporters of the eugenics movement.[3] "The Choice:An Allegory of Blood and Tears" is a satire on the Christian conception of Heaven.[3]

In 1934, Wright visited Nazi Germany to write a series of newspaper articles. Alarmed at what he saw, he wrote three novels about a future war in Europe: Prelude in Prague: The War of 1938, Four Days' War, and Mediggo's Ridge.[3]

Personal life

Wright was married twice. His first wife was Nellie (Julia Ellen) Ashbarry, whom he married in 1895. After Nellie's death in 1918, Wright married Truda (Anastasia Gertruda) Hancock in 1920. Wright had ten children.[3]

From a young age, Wright deliberately adopted a healthy lifestyle; he did not smoke or eat meat, and rarely drank alcohol. Wright also took regular exercise by hiking or cycling in the countryside.[3]

Works

Science fiction novels

The Adventure of Wyndham Smith was reprinted in the June 1950 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries

Historical novels

Mystery novels (as Sydney Fowler)

Other novels

Short fiction

Collections

Non-Fiction

References

  1. 1 2 E. F. Bleiler and Richard Bleiler. Science-Fiction: The Early Years. Kent State University Press, 1990. ISBN 9780873384162. (p.831-837 )
  2. England & Wales Birth Register Index, Sydney Fowler Wright; Registered January/February/March quarter 1874; Registration district: Kings Norton; Volume: 6c; Page: 501
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Brian Stableford, "Against the New Gods: The Speculative Fiction of S. Fowler Wright". in Against the New Gods and Other Essays on Writers of Imaginative Fiction Wildside Press LLC, 2009 ISBN 1434457435 (p.9-90).
  4. England & Wales Marriage Register Index, Sydney Fowler Wright; Registered January/February/March quarter 1895; Registration district: Birmingham; Volume: 6d; Page: 179
  5. Angus McLaren, Reproduction by Design: Sex, Robots, Trees, and Test-Tube Babies in Interwar Britain. University of Chicago Press, 2012 ISBN 0226560716, (p. 21).
  6. McLaren, Reproduction by Design (p.29).
  7. Donald E. Sultana, . The Siege of Malta Rediscovered: An Account of Sir Walter Scott's Mediterranean Journey and his Last Novel. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press (1977). ISBN 0-7073-0131-9.

Further reading

External links

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