End of the week

The end of the week approacheth, and, as usual, I have failed to do those things which I ought to have done; and, yes, I have done those things which I ought not to have done. So, here's a quick roundup of stuff which is well worth looking at but which I have been unable to do full justice to -- in no particular order.

Debra Hamel writes to say that Gideon Defoe's book The Pirates! Et Cetera is very funny. She has written a review, and while there you will find that the rest of her site is worth reading too.

Archer points out that the Archie of Whatsit can rest easy: Archer's blog is a model of good taste and rectitude. And so it is: see for yourself.

Jacqui Lofthouse is a lady who has the good taste to read the GOB and she writes too. Her book The Temple of Hymen sounds to be like triple X certificate or something. Highly unsuitable for young ladies, apparently. So how come I never heard of the damn thing? I must put in an order immediately.

Visit also Jacqui's friend Amanda Mann, who writes Confessions of an Author. Amanda shocked the publishing world to the very soles of its clay feet a while back when she published some real live genuine figures from her royalty statements.

Now believe me, folks, real figures are pretty damn rare in this business. You just don't ask your friends to show you their actual royalty statements. You allow them, out of a desire to retain their friendship, to lie to you, just as you, glibly and without a trace of guilt, lie to them. So be deeply grateful when the likes of Amanda give you the truth.

Paul Vitols is an experienced writer who blogs about what he is up to, and once again there are experiences described that you can learn from.

Mary Reed and Eric Mayer, who were mentioned a while back (8 June) tell me that they actually write under their joint names, but a lot of places have a habit of dropping the second author in listings. This upsets Eric's Mum, as well it might. Eric runs a Byzantine Blog, where you can find links to their various books.

Eric and Mary were also intrigued by my mention of the book by Kevin Brownlow. This is about his film, It Happened Here. They tell me that Kevin can be found describing how the film came to be made at the following link: http://ukapress.com/Happened.pdf.

And there are also some reminiscences about the making of the film at Rob Hansen's site, including a story about how one actor managed to shoot himself (by playing two parts, you will be relieved to hear).

Finally, don't forget Cantara Christopher, over at Published in New York. Cantara read my piece about life in England in the 1950s and asked how people managed to rebel in those days.

Well, my initial reaction was to say that they didn't rebel. Because it was too dangerous. After all, we must remember that the fifties were only twenty years after the thirties. And in the thirties we had the Depression, when people damn near starved in both the US and the UK. Those memories died hard, and in England people tended to 'know their place'. In other words, however rebellious they felt, they often kept their mouths shut.

However, that is an oversimplification. Rebellion is as old as time. Young people have always found a way to irritate and worry the life out of their parents. You may remember, in that great and good nineteenth-century book The Diary of a Nobody (written by George and Weedon Grossmith), Mr Pooter's son Lupin found no end of ways to cause his father concern. Well, that's young men for you. And young women too.

The fifties, however, did see more than a hint of rebellion. This was expressed chiefly in that dreadful rock and roll business (really, what is the world coming to); and, on a slightly more elevated level, by John Osborne's play Look Back in Anger. And lots more, in cinema, literature, and all the arts.

Enough. Have a good weekend.