Berkely Mather’s Followers (8)

Berkely Mather

Born

in Gloucester, The United Kingdom

February 25, 1909

Died

March 07, 1996

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Screenplays, Literature & Fiction

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Berkely Mather was a British author who published fifteen novels and a book of short stories. He also wrote for radio, television and the movies. Berkely Mather was in fact the pseudonym of John Evan Weston-Davies, whose family, shortly before World War I, emigrated to Australia, where he received his education. Finding himself in England without prospects at the height of the Great Depression, he enlisted in the Royal Horse Artillery, but failed to gain a commission. He therefore applied to join the Indian Army, in which he rose through the ranks, becoming a sergeant at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. He served in the Iraq campaign under Slim, and ended the war as an acting lieutenant-colonel. After India gained independence in 1947, Berkely Mather was a British author who published fifteen novels and a book of short stories. He also wrote for radio, television and the movies. Berkely Mather was in fact the pseudonym of John Evan Weston-Davies, whose family, shortly before World War I, emigrated to Australia, where he received his education. Finding himself in England without prospects at the height of the Great Depression, he enlisted in the Royal Horse Artillery, but failed to gain a commission. He therefore applied to join the Indian Army, in which he rose through the ranks, becoming a sergeant at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. He served in the Iraq campaign under Slim, and ended the war as an acting lieutenant-colonel. After India gained independence in 1947, he rejoined the British Army, serving in the Royal Artillery until he retired in 1959.

Mather's first novel, The Achilles Affair (1959), was a minor best-seller, and his second, The Pass beyond Kashmir (1960), which received glowing reviews from Ian Fleming and Erle Stanley Gardner,did even better. Ernest Hemingway owned copies of both these novels. Mather's espionage thrillers can be read separately, but are linked to each other by recurring characters, in particular the sardonic and resourceful British agent Idwal Rees, who appears in The Pass Beyond Kashmir, The Terminators and Snowline. The author's military experience and years spent abroad give his work richness and depth. His last three novels were an ambitious trilogy that followed the fortunes of the Stafford family in the Near and Far East from the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth.

Two of Mather's early books stand somewhat apart from the rest in that they are spin-offs from his work in other media. Geth Straker (1962) started out as a radio serial, hence the tag on the front cover: "Further daring exploits from the log of radio's trouble hunting mariner". The book contains four stories. Genghis Khan (1965) is a novelisation of the 1965 film of the same name, for which he had written the original story. Mather's other motion picture credits include The Long Ships and Dr. No.

In later years a leaning towards the historical turned him in the direction of the family saga, his final three novels - The Pagoda Tree (1979), Midnight Gun (1981) and Hour of the Dog (1982) - was a trilogy featuring the fortunes, and misfortunes, of a family in the Near and Far East from the middle of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th.

John Evan ("Jasper") Weston-Davies (Berkely Mather), writer: born Gloucester 25 February 1909; married 1938 Kay Jones (died 1991; two sons and one daughter deceased) died 7 April 1996.

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Average rating: 3.78 · 242 ratings · 41 reviews · 27 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Pass Beyond Kashmir 3.89 avg rating — 56 ratings — published 1960 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Terminators 3.96 avg rating — 28 ratings — published 1971 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Snowline 3.82 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 1973 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Gold Of Malabar 4.05 avg rating — 19 ratings — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Achilles Affair by Berkely Mather, Sandy Kossin (Illustrator) 3.43 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 1959 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Break in the Line 3.07 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 1970 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Genghis Khan 3.60 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 1965 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Midnight Gun 4.17 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1984 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The White Dacoit 3.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1974 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	With Extreme Prejudice by Berkely Mather, Richard Clifton-Dey (Illustrator) 3.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1975 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Berkely Mather…

Series by Berkely Mather

Idwal Rees (3 books)
by

Berkely Mather

3.90 avg rating — 106 ratings

Far Eastern Trilogy (3 books)
by

Berkely Mather

3.96 avg rating — 24 ratings

Quotes by Berkely Mather (?)

“When in doubt—reconnoitre. It doesn’t do the damnedest bit of good but it gives you time to think, and anyhow French words look and sound splendid in all military contexts.”
― Berkley Mather, The Pass Beyond Kashmir

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“I’m not the stuff heroes are made of, and I don’t expect anybody who’s working for me to be either. Gent advancing on me with a pair of red-hot pincers in one hand and a wire loop in the other gets a gush of girlish confidences, fast.”
― Berkely Mather, The Terminators

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“When in doubt—reconnoitre. It doesn’t do the damnedest bit of good but it gives you time to think, and anyhow French words look and sound splendid in all military contexts.” There was possibly a fallacy in his theory because he was eventually killed by a booby-trap while reconnoitring a brothel in Rangoon—but I decided to follow his advice.”
― Berkley Mather, The Pass Beyond Kashmir

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Berkely Mather’s Followers (8)

Berkely Mather

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