Leslie Purnell Davies (20 October 1914 – 6 January 1988) was a British
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and
mystery
Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
*Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange''
Films
* ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film
* ''Mystery'' ( ...
. He also wrote many
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
under several
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
s, including: L. Purnell Davies, Leo Berne, Richard Bridgeman, Morgan Evans, Ian Jefferson, Lawrence Phillips, Thomas Philips, G. K. Thomas, Leslie Vardre, and Rowland Welch."L(eslie) P(urnell) Davies." ''St. James Guide to Crime & Mystery Writers'', Gale, 1996. ''Biography in Context'', http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K2406000118/BIC1?u=azycldo&xid=dd1fb25d. Accessed 23 Feb. 2018.
Themes
Davies' books often deal with the manipulation of human
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
, and in some ways are comparable to the works of Philip K. Dick. (The premise of ''The Artificial Man'' resembles that of Dick's '' Time Out of Joint''.) His protagonists frequently suffer from amnesia or other loss of
identity
Identity may refer to:
* Identity document
* Identity (philosophy)
* Identity (social science)
* Identity (mathematics)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film
* ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...
, and their quest to find out who they really are drives the plot.
Film adaptations
Davies' novels ''The Artificial Man'' (1965) and ''Psychogeist'' (1966) were adapted into the 1968 film Project X, and ''The Alien'' (1968) was loosely adapted into the 1972 film ''
The Groundstar Conspiracy
''The Groundstar Conspiracy'' is a 1972 American neo noir crime film directed by Lamont Johnson. It stars George Peppard and Michael Sarrazin.
Douglas Heyes' screenplay (written under his frequent pseudonym, Matthew Howard) was adapted very fr ...
''. ''The Paper Dolls'' (1964) was adapted by Hammer as an episode ("Paper Dolls") of its television series
Journey to the Unknown
''Journey to the Unknown'' is a British anthology television series, produced by Hammer Film Productions and 20th Century Fox Television. It aired on ABC from September 26, 1968, to January 30, 1969.Royal Army Medical Corps in France, Italy and North Africa.
Critical evaluation
A critical essay on Davies' novels can be found in S. T. Joshi's ''The Evolution of the Weird Tale'' (2004).
Novels
*''The Paper Dolls'' (1964)
*''Man Out of Nowhere'' (1965; published in the US in 1966 as ''Who Is Lewis Pinder?'')
*''The Artificial Man'' (1965)
*''Psychogeist'' (1966)
*''Tell it to the Dead'' (1966, under the pseudonym Leslie Vardre; published in the US in 1967 as ''The Reluctant Medium'' under the author's real name)
*''Twilight Journey'' (1967)
*''The Lampton Dreamers'' (1967)
*''The Nameless Ones'' (1967; published in the US in 1968 as ''A Grave Matter'')
*''The Alien'' (1968)
*''Dimension A'' (1969)
*''Genesis Two'' (1969)
*''Stranger to Town'' (1969)
*''The White Room'' (1969)
*''Adventure Holidays Ltd.'' (1970)
*''The Shadow Before'' (1970)
*''Give Me Back Myself'' (1971)
*''What Did I Do Tomorrow?'' (1972)
*''Assignment Abacus'' (1975)
*''Possession'' (1976)
*''The Land of Leys'' (1979)
*''Morning Walk'' (1983)
Short Story Collection
*''Shadows Before: The London Mystery Stories of L.P. Davies'' (2 vols., Ramble House, 2021)
See also
*
List of horror fiction authors
This is a list of some (not all) notable writers in the horror fiction genre.
Note that some writers listed below have also written in other genres, especially fantasy and science fiction.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
...
References
* Joshi, S. T. "L. P. Davies: The Workings of the Mind", in ''The Evolution of the Weird Tale'' (2004), pp. 149–165.