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A Wilderness of Monkeys
Excerpt from A Wilderness of Monkeys Bliss Henry took a long breath, gripped himself he was losing the intoxication of freedom that had filled him rushing out of the glass-covered terminus in London, and tasting now, crawling to Solway by this branch line, its calm. He saw dog-roses and clover and bracken, and loved their names saw akes of mica shine in broken parts of the black banks, and was content that it was not gold he saw. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."
135 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
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About the author
Frederick Niven
61 books1 followerFrederick John Niven was a Canadian novelist of Scottish heritage. A prolific author, he produced over thirty works of fiction, an autobiography, poetry, essays, and pieces of journalism.
Niven was born in Valparaiso, Chile, the youngest of three children. His father manufactured sewed muslin, while his mother was a Calvinist born in Calcutta. When he reached school age, he accompanied his mother to Scotland. He was educated at Hutcheson's Grammar School, Glasgow, where his heart trouble prevented him from swimming. First employed in his father's factory, he later worked as a librarian in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and also had employment in a jewelry shop. He attended the Glasgow School of Art during the evening for two years. On the advice of a doctor, in his late teens Niven moved to the drier climate of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. He worked on a railroad near Savona and dug ditches in Vancouver. When he was twenty years old, he spent a summer tramping in southern British Columbia, later portrayed in Wild Honey. His return to Scotland was aboard a cattleboat from Montreal, a setting recreated in S. S. Glory (1915).
After his arrival, he contributed western sketches to the Glasgow Weekly Herald, and later, to The Pall Mall Magazine, eventually becoming a journalist. His first novel, Lost Cabin Mine (1908), was a Western published serially in The Popular Magazine. His second, The Island of Providence (1910), a historical romance of 17th century Devon, contained scenes replete with pirates and buccaneers. His first foray into realistically depicting Scottish life was A Wilderness of Monkeys (1911).
In 1911, Niven married Mary Pauline Thorne-Quelch, a journalist fifteen years his junior. In 1912 and 1913 the couple spent several months travelling in Western Canada prior to returning to London before WWI. Niven was rejected for military service due to his heart condition. He spent the war working for the Ministry of Food and the War Office. This period, the years 1913 to 1920, was most productive, and included the publication of Justice of the Peace (1914), which many, including his wife, consider to be his finest novel. His first volume of poetry, Maple Leaf Songs, appeared in 1917.
Niven was born in Valparaiso, Chile, the youngest of three children. His father manufactured sewed muslin, while his mother was a Calvinist born in Calcutta. When he reached school age, he accompanied his mother to Scotland. He was educated at Hutcheson's Grammar School, Glasgow, where his heart trouble prevented him from swimming. First employed in his father's factory, he later worked as a librarian in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and also had employment in a jewelry shop. He attended the Glasgow School of Art during the evening for two years. On the advice of a doctor, in his late teens Niven moved to the drier climate of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. He worked on a railroad near Savona and dug ditches in Vancouver. When he was twenty years old, he spent a summer tramping in southern British Columbia, later portrayed in Wild Honey. His return to Scotland was aboard a cattleboat from Montreal, a setting recreated in S. S. Glory (1915).
After his arrival, he contributed western sketches to the Glasgow Weekly Herald, and later, to The Pall Mall Magazine, eventually becoming a journalist. His first novel, Lost Cabin Mine (1908), was a Western published serially in The Popular Magazine. His second, The Island of Providence (1910), a historical romance of 17th century Devon, contained scenes replete with pirates and buccaneers. His first foray into realistically depicting Scottish life was A Wilderness of Monkeys (1911).
In 1911, Niven married Mary Pauline Thorne-Quelch, a journalist fifteen years his junior. In 1912 and 1913 the couple spent several months travelling in Western Canada prior to returning to London before WWI. Niven was rejected for military service due to his heart condition. He spent the war working for the Ministry of Food and the War Office. This period, the years 1913 to 1920, was most productive, and included the publication of Justice of the Peace (1914), which many, including his wife, consider to be his finest novel. His first volume of poetry, Maple Leaf Songs, appeared in 1917.
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