Digby George Gerahty (3 April 1898 – 6 November 1981), who wrote under the pen-names of Robert Standish and Stephen Lister, was an English novelist and short story writer most productive during the 1940s and 1950s. He was also a featured contributor to the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

''. His novels include ''

Elephant Walk ''Elephant Walk'' is a 1954 American drama film produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by William Dieterle, and starring Elizabeth Taylor, Dana Andrews, Peter Finch and Abraham Sofaer.It is based upon the 1948 novel ''Elephant Walk'' by "Robe ...

'', which was later made into a film starring

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

. In the semi-autobiographical ''Marise'' (1950), Gerahty (writing as "Stephen Lister") claimed that he and two publicist colleagues had covertly "invented" the

Loch Ness Monster The Loch Ness Monster ( gd, Uilebheist Loch Nis), affectionately known as Nessie, is a creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or mor ...

in 1933 as part of a contract to improve business for local hotels; he repeated his claim to Henry Bauer, a researcher, in 1980. He was born in 1898 in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

, the son of George and Laura. He was the elder brother of the actor Leslie Marsh Gerahty (better known as

Garry Marsh Garry Marsh (21 June 1902 – 6 March 1981) was an English stage and film actor. Born Leslie Marsh Gerahty in St Margarets, Surrey, his parents were George and Laura. His elder brothers were the author Digby George Gerahty and the journalist ...

) and the younger brother of the journalist

Cecil Gerahty Cecil Echlin Gerahty (1888 – 13 May 1938) was an English journalist for the '' Daily Mail''. Born in Hampton Wick in 1888, his parents were George Marsh and his wife Laura. His younger brothers were the author Digby George Gerahty and the ac ...

. He joined the Royal Airforce on 7 July 1917 and served until 15 February 1919, leaving with a temporary commission as 2nd lieutenant. He was first married in 1934 with a second marriage, to Ethyle R D Campbell, in 1938, Paddington. Gerahty died at his home in

Valbonne Valbonne (; oc, Vauboa) is a commune near Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Valbonne means "the good valley" in Provençal and translates to "Vaubona" in Occitan. The c ...

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

, in the South of France, aged 83.Probate 1982. Find a will , GOV.UK (probatesearch.service.gov.uk)

Works

*''The Three Bamboos'' (1942) *''Bonin'' (1943) *''The Small General'' (1945) *''Mr. On Loong'' (1947) *''Peace Comes to Sainte Monique'' (1947) *''

'' (1948) *''The Gulf of Time'' (1948) *''Gentleman of China'' (1949) *''Follow the Seventh Man'' (1950) *''Marise'' (1950) *''A Worthy Man'' (1952) *''Fit for a Bishop; or, How to Keep a Fat Priest in Prime Condition (Recipes)'' (1953, 1955) (written as by Stephen Lister) *''A Long Way from Pimlico'' (1954) (published in the United States as ''Escape from Pimlico'') *''Face Value'' (1955) (short stories) *''Blind Tiger'' (1956) *''Honourable Ancestor'' (1956) *''Storm Centre'' (1957) *''African Guinea Pig'' (1958) *''The Radio-Active General and Other Stories'' (1959) *''The Big One Got Away'' (1960) *''The First of Trees: The Story of The Olive'' (1960) *''The Talking Dog: and Other Stories'' (1961) *''Singapore Kate'' (1964) *''End of The Line'' (1965) *''The Widow Hack'' (1966) *''The Course of True Love'' (1968) *''Elephant Law, and Other Stories'' (1969) *''Rickshaw Boy'' (1970) *''Hungarian Roulette'' (1972) (written as by Stephen Lister) *''The Silk Tontine'' (1972) *''The Fountain of Youth, and Other Stories'' (1973) *''The Short Match'' (1974) *''Dabney's Reef'' (1975) *''The dog that never was'' (1975) *''The Cruise of The 'Three Brothers' '' (1976) *''Green Fire'' (1976) *''The Gulf of Time'' (1976) *''The Story of Mary Lee'' (1978) *''The Prince of Storytellers'' (1979)

References

External links

* 1898 births 1981 deaths English male novelists 20th-century English novelists Loch Ness Monster 20th-century English male writers People from Isleworth {{England-writer-stub