28? In today's youth-obsessed society, where programmes like Ten Years Younger are more popular than the news, this look seems a little eccentric, but it appears that in 1939, 30 was the new 40.I don't know if the book's any good, but the cover is superb:
He's Gussie Fink-Nottle isn't he?
ReplyDeleteStrangely, even in light of what you say, there are still undergrads who attempt to cultivate a similar appearance. I say, go for the full set man. All that trimming and shaving eats into your writing time.
ReplyDeleteHave to agree, that's a great cover illustration.
A relative of thirteen-year-old D. Greaves of Middleton, Lancashire, perhaps.
ReplyDeleteD. Greaves? You'll remember his award-winning 1/16-scale four-masted baroque, which was featured in this very blog.
Definitely related to D. Greaves, with Fink-Nottle as style consultant. Author photos weren't that common in 1939, so why pick him?
ReplyDeleteMartin, my wife would agree with you. She hates fussy beards. However, if I had one, I'd prefer the Master to Grizzly Adams.
With a look like that I'll bet he was the hippest frood around. The fashionwear of today is the fuddy-duddy duds of tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteHe was probably 48 but lying about his age so no one asked him why it had taken so long to produce his first novel.
ReplyDeleteEither that or he'd had a hard life of manual graft.
The cover looks vaguely fascistic in a Brave New World kind of way. I wonder if he's still alive?
ReplyDeleteA quick check on "Fantastic Fiction" reveals that he died in 1975, at the age of 65.
ReplyDeleteHe was quite prolific in his later years:
The Wings of the Morning (1939)
Not In Our Stars (1949)
The Astrologer (1950)
Sylvester (1951)
aka 998
The Last Poor Man (1966)
The Death Lottery (1971)
The Final Agenda (1973)
Prince Habib's Iceberg (1974)
Morrow's Ants (1975)
So this is his centenary year!
ReplyDelete