Blackout in Gretley (1942)
J.B. Priestley
Book Description
Humphrey Neyland is a middle-aged Canadian engineer recruited by British Intelligence to go undercover in the industrial city of Gretley, where aircraft essential to the war effort are being produced and where it is feared Nazi agents and saboteurs are lurking. Almost everyone he meets in Gretley seems to have a double life and a secret agenda, and it doesn’t take long before Neyland is caught up in a web of murder and deceit in this sleepy town, where death lurks around every corner.
Originally published during the height of World War II, J. B. Priestley’s classic spy thriller Blackout in Gretley (1942) is both a highly entertaining page-turner and a fascinating window into British life during the war. This new edition joins ten other Priestley novels published by Valancourt and reveals yet another side of one of the most popular English authors of the 20th century.
J.B. Priestley
Book Description
Humphrey Neyland is a middle-aged Canadian engineer recruited by British Intelligence to go undercover in the industrial city of Gretley, where aircraft essential to the war effort are being produced and where it is feared Nazi agents and saboteurs are lurking. Almost everyone he meets in Gretley seems to have a double life and a secret agenda, and it doesn’t take long before Neyland is caught up in a web of murder and deceit in this sleepy town, where death lurks around every corner.
Originally published during the height of World War II, J. B. Priestley’s classic spy thriller Blackout in Gretley (1942) is both a highly entertaining page-turner and a fascinating window into British life during the war. This new edition joins ten other Priestley novels published by Valancourt and reveals yet another side of one of the most popular English authors of the 20th century.
reviews
“J.B. Priestley is one of our literary icons of the 20th century. And it is time that we all became reacquainted with his genius.” - Judi Dench
“A master craftsman at spinning a yarn . . . But Blackout in Gretley is more than a spy-hunting story. It is Priestley’s ardent declaration of the things that England is fighting for.” - The New York Times
“A master craftsman at spinning a yarn . . . But Blackout in Gretley is more than a spy-hunting story. It is Priestley’s ardent declaration of the things that England is fighting for.” - The New York Times
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1954321090 ISBN-13: 978-1954321090 $29.99 US, 190 pp. Case Laminate Hardcover Published 2021 BOOK DETAILS ISBN: 1-954321082 ISBN-13: 978-1954321083 $16.99 US, 190 pp. Trade paper Published 2021 |
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
John Boynton Priestley was born in 1894 in Yorkshire, the son of a schoolmaster. After leaving Belle Vue School when he was 16, he worked in a wool office but was already by this time determined to become a writer. He volunteered for the army in 1914 during the First World War and served five years; on his return home, he attended university and wrote articles for the Yorkshire Observer. After graduating, he established himself in London, writing essays, reviews, and other nonfiction, and publishing several miscellaneous volumes. In 1927 his first two novels appeared, Adam in Moonshine and Benighted. In 1929 Priestley scored his first major critical success as a novelist, winning the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for The Good Companions. Angel Pavement (1930) followed and was also extremely successful. Throughout the next several decades, Priestley published numerous novels, many of them very popular and successful, including Bright Day (1946), and Lost Empires (1965), and was also a prolific and highly regarded playwright.
Priestley died in 1984, and though his plays have continued to be published and performed since his death, much of his fiction has unfortunately fallen into obscurity. Recently, some of his most famous novels have been reprinted in England by Great Northern Books; Valancourt Books is republishing Benighted and Priestley’s excellent collection of weird short stories The Other Place (1953).
For more information on J.B. Priestley, visit the official website at http://www.jbpriestley.co.uk/JBP/Home.html or the website for the J.B. Priestley Society at http://www.jbpriestleysociety.com/.
Priestley died in 1984, and though his plays have continued to be published and performed since his death, much of his fiction has unfortunately fallen into obscurity. Recently, some of his most famous novels have been reprinted in England by Great Northern Books; Valancourt Books is republishing Benighted and Priestley’s excellent collection of weird short stories The Other Place (1953).
For more information on J.B. Priestley, visit the official website at http://www.jbpriestley.co.uk/JBP/Home.html or the website for the J.B. Priestley Society at http://www.jbpriestleysociety.com/.