Patrick Humphries, author, music journalist and literary critic, is coming to Bell House to discuss his latest book on five local authors.
About this Event
Patrick Humphries, author, music journalist and literary critic, is coming to Bell House to discuss his latest book on five local authors.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, A.E.W. Mason, P.G. Wodehouse, Raymond Chandler, Dennis Wheatley and C.S. Forester were all pupils at the school, which celebrates its 400th anniversary this year.
A.E.W. Mason’s best-known novel The Four Feathers was first published in 1902 and has been filmed a record seven times. Wodehouse remains the pre-eminent writer of comic prose, and Chandler the creator of the archetypal private eye, Philip Marlowe. Both writers were taught and influenced by the same Classics Master at Dulwich; both enjoyed their time at the College.
Wheatley remains less well-known today, though every one of his thrillers sold large numbers on publication. Forester is famous for his Hornblower novels, but also as author of the Oscar-winning The African Queen.
Wheatley, like Forester, loathed his time at the school, but all five were bound by their time at the school, sharing memories of rugby scrums, lunches in the Great Hall, Latin prep and buns in the Buttery.
An intriguing cast of characters is assembled in the book: Lord Haw-Haw, Lou Reed, George Orwell, Alfred Hitchcock, Ernest Shackleton, Winston Churchill, Aleister Crowley, Roald Dahl, Christopher Lee, and . . . James Bond!
While rooted in Dulwich and south-east London, the narrative ranges from Camberwell to Hollywood; from Crystal Palace to the trenches of World War I.
Tickets cost £10, and a wine or soft drink is included. Please email [email protected] for bursary tickets.
About the speaker
During the last century, Patrick was employed as a ‘hip young gunslinger’ on New Musical Express, and has been a professional writer ever since. Besides contributing to the music press and national newspapers, he has also made programmes for BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4. Patrick is also the author of more than 20 books, including definitive biographies of Nick Drake, Richard Thompson and Lonnie Donegan.