The Other Place (1953)
J.B. Priestley
With a new introduction by John Baxendale
Book Description
J. B. Priestley (1894-1984) was a versatile and prolific novelist and playwright, but in The Other Place (1953) he shows an unexpected talent, proving himself a master of the weird tale. In "The Grey Ones," a man visits a psychiatrist after he becomes convinced that a group of demons masquerading as people are plotting the overthrow of the human race . . . but what if he's not insane? In "Guest of Honour," a banquet speech becomes a horrifying affair when the keynote speaker realizes his audience is made up of monstrous and menacing creatures. "The Leadington Incident" recounts the disturbing experience of a Cabinet minister who suddenly perceives that though the people around him move and talk as though alive, they are all actually just animated corpses or sleepwalking zombies. The nine tales in this collection are strange, fantastic, and often unsettling, and they represent Priestley at his best.
J.B. Priestley
With a new introduction by John Baxendale
Book Description
J. B. Priestley (1894-1984) was a versatile and prolific novelist and playwright, but in The Other Place (1953) he shows an unexpected talent, proving himself a master of the weird tale. In "The Grey Ones," a man visits a psychiatrist after he becomes convinced that a group of demons masquerading as people are plotting the overthrow of the human race . . . but what if he's not insane? In "Guest of Honour," a banquet speech becomes a horrifying affair when the keynote speaker realizes his audience is made up of monstrous and menacing creatures. "The Leadington Incident" recounts the disturbing experience of a Cabinet minister who suddenly perceives that though the people around him move and talk as though alive, they are all actually just animated corpses or sleepwalking zombies. The nine tales in this collection are strange, fantastic, and often unsettling, and they represent Priestley at his best.
reviews
“These stories say something meaningful, as well as relate an anecdote. They are not only examples of narrative skill, but exhibitions of social truth.” - Saturday Review
“Priestley is one of the finest and most popular storytellers of the last hundred years. We are now aware many of his stories have a prophetic quality.” - Dame Margaret Drabble
“[H]ighly readable and provocative.” - Sunday Herald (Sydney)
‘Classic high camp.’ – Books and Bookmen
“First published in 1953, The Other Place captures this period of anxiety and menace. . . . These stories show Priestley’s skill at depicting ordinary people in everyday settings while also putting them into uncanny situations, . . . leaving the reader with the worry that something alarming is on the way, or a yearning sense of having encountered – however briefly – something wonderful. And in all cases extraordinary.” – John Howard, Wormwood, May 2014
“Priestley is one of the finest and most popular storytellers of the last hundred years. We are now aware many of his stories have a prophetic quality.” - Dame Margaret Drabble
“[H]ighly readable and provocative.” - Sunday Herald (Sydney)
‘Classic high camp.’ – Books and Bookmen
“First published in 1953, The Other Place captures this period of anxiety and menace. . . . These stories show Priestley’s skill at depicting ordinary people in everyday settings while also putting them into uncanny situations, . . . leaving the reader with the worry that something alarming is on the way, or a yearning sense of having encountered – however briefly – something wonderful. And in all cases extraordinary.” – John Howard, Wormwood, May 2014
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BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1948405121 ISBN-13: 978-1948405126 $29.99 US, 198 pp. Hardcover Published 2018 BOOK DETAILS ISBN: 1948405113 ISBN-13: 978-1948405119 $16.99 US, 198 pp. Trade paper Published 2018 |
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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/.