Gerald William Bullett (30 December 1893 – 3 January 1958) was a British

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

. He was known as a novelist, essayist, short story writer, critic and poet. He wrote both

supernatural fiction Supernatural fiction or supernaturalist fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that exploits or is centered on supernatural themes, often contradicting naturalist assumptions of the real world. Description In its broadest definition, supe ...

and some

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. A few of his books were published under the pseudonym Sebastian Fox.

Biography

Bullett was born in London, the son of businessman Robert Bullet and Ellen Bullett (née Pegg), and educated at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he worked for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

in London, and after the war was a radio broadcaster. Bullett also contributed to the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

''. Politically, Bullett described himself as a "liberal socialist" and claimed to detest "prudery,

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

blood sports A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities charact ...

, central heating, and literary tea parties". Bullett was also an

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

, describing fascism as "gangsterism on a national scale"; he publicly backed the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

side during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. One of his novels was ''Mr. Godly Beside Himself'' (1924), a humorous

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

story about a modern man who exchanges places with his doppelganger in

fairyland Fairyland (''Faerie'', Scottish ''Elfame'', c.f. Old Norse ''Álfheimr'') in English and Scottish folklore is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or ''fays''. Old French (Early Modern English ) referred to an illusion or enchantment, the land ...

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

likens Bullet's novel to other works of post First World War British fantasy, such as

Stella Benson Stella Benson (6 January 1892 – 7 December 1933) was an English feminist, novelist, poet, and travel writer. She was a recipient of the Benson Medal. Early life Benson was born to Ralph Beaumont Benson (1862–1911), a member of the landed ...

's ''Living Alone'' (1919), and

Hope Mirrlees (Helen) Hope Mirrlees (8 April 1887 – 1 August 1978) was a British poet, novelist, and translator. She is best known for the 1926 ''Lud-in-the-Mist'', a fantasy novel and influential classic,David Langford and Mike Ashley, "Mirrlees, Hope", i ...

' ''

Lud-in-the-Mist ''Lud-in-the-Mist'' (1926) is the third and final novel by British writer Hope Mirrlees. It continues the author's exploration of the themes of Life and Art, by a method already described in the preface of her first novel, ''Madeleine: One of Lo ...

'' (1926). Bullett was a great admirer of

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

, and wrote an essay on Whitman for the book ''Great Democrats'' by Alfred Barratt Brown. Here he described Whitman as "a man full-blooded and brotherly, unselfconscious in his democracy and genuinely at ease with all kinds and classes". Bullett died in Chichester, West Sussex, on 3 January 1958.

Works

* ''The Progress of Kay, A Series of Glimpses'' (1916) * ''Mice and other poems'' (1921) * ''The Street of the Eye and Nine Other Tales'' (1923) * ''Mr Godly Beside Himself'' (1924) * ''Walt Whitman: A Study and a Selection'' (1924) * ''The Baker's Cart and Other Tales'' (1925) * ''Modern English Fiction'' (1926) * ''Seed of Israel: Tales from the English Bible'' (1927) * ''The Spanish Caravel'' (1927); later ''The Happy Mariners'' (1956) * "Dreaming" (1928) – essay * ''The World in Bud and Other Tales'' (1928) * ''Nicky Son of Egg'' (1929) * ''The History of Egg Pandervil'' (1929) * ''Germany'' (1930) * ''Remember Mrs Munch'' (1931) * ''Marden Fee'' (1931) * ''Helen's Lovers and Other Tales'' (1932) * ''I'll Tell You Everything'' (1932), by Bullett and

J. B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

* ''The Quick and The Dead'' (1933) * ''Eden River'' (1934) * ''The Bubble'' (1934) * ''The Jury'' (1935) – filmed as ''

The Last Man to Hang? ''The Last Man to Hang?'' is a 1956 crime film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Tom Conway and Elizabeth Sellars. The film was produced by John Gossage for Act Films Ltd. Plot Music critic Sir Roderick Strood is having an affair with a bea ...

'' in 1956 * ''The Snare of the Fowler: A Tragedy of Time & Chance'' (1936), as by Sebastian Fox * ''Poems in Pencil'' (1937) * ''The Innocence of G. K. Chesterton'' (1937) * ''The Bending Sickle'' (1938) – novel * ''Twenty Four Tales'' (1938) * ''When the Cat's Away'' (1940) * ''A Man of Forty'' (1940) * ''Winter Solstice'' (1943) * ''The Elderbrook Brothers'' (1945) * ''Judgment in Suspense'' (1946) – novel * ''George Eliot'' (1947) * ''Men at High Table'' and ''The House of Strangers'' (1948) * ''Poems'' (1949) * ''Cricket in Heaven'' (1949) * ''The English Mystics'' (1950) * ''Sydney Smith, a Biography and a Selection'' (1951) * ''The Trouble at Number Seven'' (1952) * ''News From The Village'' (1952) – poems * ''The Alderman’s Son'' (1954) – novel * ''Windows On A Vanished Time'' (1955) * ''One Man's Poison'' (1956), as by Sebastian Fox * ''The Daughters of Mrs Peacock'' (1957) * ''Odd Woman Out'' (1958), as by Sebastian Fox * ''The Peacock Brides'' (1958) * ''Ten-Minute Tales and Some Others'' (1959) * ''Collected Poems'' (1959), selected by

E. M. W. Tillyard Eustace Mandeville Wetenhall Tillyard (19 May 1889 – 24 May 1962) was an English classical and literary scholar who was Master of Jesus College, Cambridge from 1945 to 1959. Biography Tillyard was born in Cambridge. His father Alfred Isaa ...

As editor

* ''Short Stories of To-day and Yesterday'' (1929) * ''The Testament of Light'' (1932) – anthology * ''The Pattern of Courtesy: An Anthology, Continuing the Testament of Light'' (1934) * ''A Book of Good Faith – Montaigne: A Miscellany of Passages'' (1938) * ''The Phœnix and Turtle'' (1938) * ''The Jackdaw's Nest, A Fivefold Anthology'' (1939) * ''The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems'' (1942) * ''Readings in English Literature: From Chaucer to Matthew Arnold'' (1945) * ''Silver Poets of the 16th Century'' (1947)

As translator

* ''The Golden Year of Fan Cheng-Ta: A Chinese Rural Sequence Rendered into English Verse'' (1946)

References

External links

* * * * * *
Sebastian Fox
at LC Authorities, with no records, an
at WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bullett, Gerald 1893 births 1958 deaths 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English poets 20th-century essayists Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge British male essayists British male poets English anti-fascists English essayists English fantasy writers English male non-fiction writers English male novelists English male short story writers English short story writers English socialists Writers from London 20th-century pseudonymous writers