Gerald Kersh (26 August 1912– 5 November 1968) was a British and later also American writer of novels and short stories.

Biography

Born in 1912, Kersh began to write at the age of eight. After leaving school, he worked as, amongst other things, a cinema manager, bodyguard, debt collector, fish and chip cook, travelling salesman, French teacher and all-in wrestler whilst attempting to succeed as a writer. Kersh's first novel, ''Jews Without Jehovah'', an autobiographical tale of growing up poor and

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish, was published in 1934. Kersh, however, had not sufficiently concealed the identities of some of the characters, and a member of his family sued for libel; as a result, the book was quickly withdrawn. '' Night and the City'' (1938), was more successful and has been filmed twice, with

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, ''Kiss of Death (1947 film ...

in 1950 and then in 1992 with

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

in the lead role (this version transposed the setting from London to New York). Kersh was drafted into the army during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, served in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

and ended up writing for the Army Film Unit. Despite apparently deserting, Kersh ended up in France during the liberation, where he discovered that many of his French relatives had ended up in Hitler's extermination camps. After the war, Kersh continued to enjoy commercial success, mainly because of his

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

, in genres such as horror,

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and the detective story. From about the mid-1950s onwards, he started to suffer from poor health and financial hardship (specifically relating to his failure to pay income tax). However, Kersh continued to publish novels and stories, some of which were commercially and critically successful. In 1958, his short story "The Secret of the Bottle", originally published in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'', received an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

. The following year he became a U.S. citizen.

Style

In the late 1930s, Kersh said that his novels published to that date "haven't really been fiction at all" and "contained an irreducible minimum of made-up-stuff". His novels (although not his short stories) typically depict the low life and eccentric characters of London, implying that they are written from Kersh's own experience and are semi-autobiographical. ''Night and the City'' has a plot involving professional wrestling, and in ''Fowler's End'' the protagonist is a cinema manager/chucker-out, both roles featuring in Kersh's non-writing career.

Critical reputation

As Kersh's popularity did not survive his death in 1968, it is not easy to find copies of most of his works.

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993) who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his Utopian and dystopian fiction, dy ...

believed ''Fowler's End'' was "one of the funniest of post-war novels, and strangely neglected". In recent years, however, he has received some critical attention, and SF author

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

stated that Kersh was his favourite author. Writing to a fan, Ellison recommended Kersh, writing, "you will find yourself in the presence of a talent so immense and compelling, that you will understand how grateful and humble I felt merely to have been permitted to associate myself with his name as editor." The protagonist of his short story " Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?" appears in the third chapter of '' The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century''. There, the character identifies himself as "Colonel Cuckoo".

Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dr ...

noted that Kersh was "incapable of writing a dull sentence." Kersh is one of eight writers commemorated in Compass Road, a watch design by Crispin Jones and writer Iain Sinclair. Kersh was listed #9 in ''Time Outs "Top 30 chart of London's most erotic writers".

Works

A prolific writer, he has been described as "hammering out twenty novels, twenty collections of short stories and thousands of articles in different publications, hacking pseudonymously as Piers England, Waldo Kellar, Mr Chickery, Joe Twist, George Munday, and others",David Collard (18 September 2013).
Gerald Kersh, from pulp to brimstone
. ''

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 ...

''. Retrieved 17 March 2018. some of his notable publications being: *''Jews Without Jehovah'' ( Wishart & Co, 1934) *''Men Are So Ardent'' ( William Heinemann, 1935) *'' Night and the City'' ( Michael Joseph, 1938), published as ''Dishonor'' ( Avon, 1955) in the US *''I Got References'' (William Heinemann, 1939), short stories *''They Die with Their Boots Clean'' (William Heinemann, 1941) *''The Nine Lives of Bill Nelson'' (William Heinemann, 1942) *''Brain and Ten Fingers'' (William Heinemann, 1943) *''Selected Stories'' (Staples and Staples, 1943), short stories *''The Dead Look On'' (William Heinemann, 1943) *''Faces in a Dusty Picture'' (William Heinemann, 1944) *''The Horrible Dummy and Other Stories'' (William Heinemann, 1944), short stories *''The Weak and the Strong'' (William Heinemann, 1945) *''An Ape, a Dog and a Serpent: A Fantastic Novel'' (William Heinemann, 1945) *''Sergeant Nelson of the Guards'' ( John C. Winston, 1945) *''Clean, Bright and Slightly Oiled'' (William Heinemann, 1946), autobiographical stories *''Neither Man nor Dog: Short Stories ''(William Heinemann, 1946), short stories *''Sad Road to the Sea'' (William Heinemann, 1947), short stories *''The Song of the Flea'' (William Heinemann, 1948) *''Clock Without Hands'' (William Heinemann, 1949), short stories *''The Thousand Deaths of Mr. Small'' (William Heinemann, 1951) *''The Brazen Bull'' (William Heinemann, 1952), short stories *''Prelude to a Certain Midnight'' (William Heinemann, 1953) *''The Great Wash'' (William Heinemann, 1953), issued as ''The Secret Masters'' (

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

, 1953) in the US *''The Brighton Monster and Other Stories'' (William Heinemann, 1953), short stories *''Guttersnipe: Little Novels'' (William Heinemann, 1954), short stories *''Men Without Bones'' (William Heinemann, 1955), short stories, issued in the US by Paperback Library, Inc, in 1962, with some different stories *''Fowler's End'' (William Heinemann, 1958) *'' On an Odd Note'' (Ballantine Books, 1958), short stories *''The Ugly Face of Love and Other Stories'' (William Heinemann, 1960) *''The Best of Gerald Kersh'' (William Heinemann, 1960), edited by Simon Raven *''The Implacable Hunter'' (William Heinemann, 1961) *''The Terribly Wild Flowers: Nine Stories'' (William Heinemann, 1962), short stories *''More Than Once Upon a Time'' (William Heinemann, 1964), short stories *''The Hospitality of Miss Tolliver'' (William Heinemann, 1965), short stories *''A Long Cool Day in Hell'' (William Heinemann, 1966) *''The Angel and the Cuckoo'' (William Heinemann, 1966) *''Nightshade and Damnations'' (

Gold Medal Books Gold Medal Books, launched by Fawcett Publications in 1950, was an American book publisher known for introducing paperback originals, a publishing innovation at the time. Fawcett was also an independent newsstand distributor, and in 1949 the c ...

, 1968), short stories, edited by

*''Brock'' (William Heinemann, 1969) *''Karmesin: The World's Greatest Criminal – or Most Outrageous Liar'' (

Crippen & Landru Crippen & Landru Publishers is a small publisher of mystery fiction collections, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1994 by husband and wife Sandi and Douglas G. Greene in Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an indepen ...

, 2003), short stories *''The World, the Flesh, & the Devil: Fantastical Writings, Volume I'' ( Ash-Tree Press, 2006), short stories

Rediscovery and new editions

In 2013 Valancourt Books began reprinting many of Kersh's titles. *''Nightshade and Damnations'' (1968), with an introduction by

(Reprinted in 2013) *''Fowlers End'' (1957), with an introduction by

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

(Reprinted in 2013) *''Neither Man nor Dog'' (1946), with an introduction by Robert Webb (Reprinted in 2015) *''Clock Without Hands'' (1949), with an introduction by Thomas Pluck (Reprinted in 2015) *''The Great Wash'' (aka ''The Secret Masters'') (1953) (Reprinted in 2015) *''On an Odd Note'' (1957), with an introduction by Nick Mamatas (Reprinted in 2015)

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

reprinted a number of titles, all in 2013: *''The Horrible Dummy and Other Stories'' (1944) *''Sergeant Nelson of the Guards'' (1945) *''The Song of the Flea'' (1948) *''The Thousand Deaths of Mr Small'' (1951) *''The Best of Gerald Kersh'' (1960) *''The Implacable Hunter'' (1961) London Books reprinted three novels: *''Night and the City'' (1938), Reprinted in 2007 *''The Angel and the Cuckoo'' (1966), reprinted in 2011 *''Prelude to a Certain Midnight'' (1953), reprinted in 2017

References

External links

The Nights and Cities of Gerald Kersh
*
Kersh, Gerald
at ''

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work covering fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant (author), John Grant. As of November 2012, the full text of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is available online, as a compani ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kersh, Gerald 1912 births 1968 deaths English short story writers English horror writers English fantasy writers English science fiction writers Jewish English writers Military personnel from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames British Army personnel of World War II Coldstream Guards soldiers Edgar Award winners People from Teddington 20th-century English novelists 20th-century British short story writers British emigrants to the United States Pulp fiction writers