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Love in the Sun
In the early-1930s a couple run away to a lonely cove in Cornwall
and make their home in an old army hut. It is the time of the Great Depression; they need furniture, food, any means of raising cash they can think of whilst he, a struggling author, is determined to write a novel about the inshore fishermen of Robin Hood's Bay —a novel that will solve the couple’s financial problems. This is their story told with ". . . a simplicity and a charm equal to Thomas Hardy" (Book Society, 1939).
When first published Love in the Sun was destined to be a bestseller on a massive scale. Alexander Korda wanted the film rights, and actor Leslie Howard (Gone With the Wind) was considered for the lead role. But any hopes of Leo Walmsley attaining international acclaim were dashed by the outbreak of World War II.
"We are not worthy to be called writers if we cannot do what . . . [Leo Walmsley] has done in Love in the Sun . . ."
Daphne du Maurier
and make their home in an old army hut. It is the time of the Great Depression; they need furniture, food, any means of raising cash they can think of whilst he, a struggling author, is determined to write a novel about the inshore fishermen of Robin Hood's Bay —a novel that will solve the couple’s financial problems. This is their story told with ". . . a simplicity and a charm equal to Thomas Hardy" (Book Society, 1939).
When first published Love in the Sun was destined to be a bestseller on a massive scale. Alexander Korda wanted the film rights, and actor Leslie Howard (Gone With the Wind) was considered for the lead role. But any hopes of Leo Walmsley attaining international acclaim were dashed by the outbreak of World War II.
"We are not worthy to be called writers if we cannot do what . . . [Leo Walmsley] has done in Love in the Sun . . ."
Daphne du Maurier
- GenresFiction
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1939
4 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Leo Walmsley
48 books5 followersLeo Walmsley was an English writer. He was born in Shipley in West Yorkshire in 1892, and two years later his family moved to Robin Hood's Bay on the coast of present-day North Yorkshire, where he was schooled at the old Wesleyan chapel & the Scarborough Municipal School. He was the son of the painter Ulric Walmsley. In 1912 the young Leo secured the post of curator-caretaker of the Robin Hood's Bay Marine Laboratory at five shillings a week.
During World War I he served as an observer with the Royal Flying Corps in East Africa, was mentioned in dispatches four times and was awarded the Military Cross. After a plane crash he was sent home, and eventually pursued a literary career. He settled at Pont Pill near Polruan in Cornwall, where he became friendly with the writer Daphne du Maurier.
Many of his books are mainly autobiographical, the best known being his Bramblewick series set in Robin Hood's Bay – Foreigners, Three Fevers, Phantom Lobster and Sally Lunn, the second of which was filmed as Turn of the Tide (1935).
During World War I he served as an observer with the Royal Flying Corps in East Africa, was mentioned in dispatches four times and was awarded the Military Cross. After a plane crash he was sent home, and eventually pursued a literary career. He settled at Pont Pill near Polruan in Cornwall, where he became friendly with the writer Daphne du Maurier.
Many of his books are mainly autobiographical, the best known being his Bramblewick series set in Robin Hood's Bay – Foreigners, Three Fevers, Phantom Lobster and Sally Lunn, the second of which was filmed as Turn of the Tide (1935).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 5, 2011
I picked up an older edition of Love in the Sun purely by chance, as I browsed local fiction in the library. I am so, so glad that I did. It is a gem.
The first clue was Daphne Du Maurier’s introduction:
”‘Love in the Sun’ will make other writers feel ashamed. And, curiously enough, old-fashioned too. It is a revelation in the art of writing and may be one of the pioneers in a new renaissance which shall and must take place in our time if the novel is to survive at all. While we struggle to produce our complicated plots, all sex and psychology, fondly imagining we are drawing modern life while really we are as démodé as jazz and mah jong, Leo Walmsley gives the reader a true story, classic in its simplicity, of a man and a girl who possessed nothing in life but love for each other and faith in the future, and because of these things, were courageous and happy…”
How could I not bring it home after reading that?!
The story is indeed simple.
A man and a woman from Yorkshire are in love, and they run away to Cornwall. Life had become complicated, and they just want to build a life together and be happy.
“We were in love and we knew what we wanted. To have a little house close to the sea, a garden, a boat…”
They lease an old army hut – previously only used as temporary shelter – for their home. They create a garden and grow vegetables; they catch fish too; they collect driftwood to burn for fuel, and so they survive and build that life. So that he can write his novel and she can have their baby.
Yes, it really is that simple. But it works beautifully, because it is honest and true.
There are little incidents, and many ups and downs, along the way. A roof that cannot keep out the Cornish rain. A kitten rescued. A boat lost to strong tides. Desperate attempts to avoid a familiar face from home. An unexpected friendship. A failed attempt to sell surplus produce. All things that you can imagine the couple recalling fondly in later life.
A baby arrives, and so does a book. There are dark shadows: the man struggles to come to terms with the time and attention that the woman must give to the child, and with the pressure to produce a second book after the first is published.
But all of that falls away when the couple’s future is threatened. Their love comes to the fore, and with a little luck they will pull through.
It is impossible not to care: the man and the woman are utterly real, and every detail rings true.
We make life complicated, when it could be so simple.
Love in the Sun is simply lovely.
“”Yes,” she cried. “Yes, I’m certian of it. Everybody will want to read it. Everybody will want to buy it. How could people not help liking it? It’s so real. There’s nothing dull about it… It’s a grand book.”
“God!” I cried. “You’re right. It ought to go. It ought to sell in thousands.”
Words from Love in the Sun, but they could equally well be said about it. I am so pleased to see this reissue from the Leo Walmsley Society, and wish it every success.
The first clue was Daphne Du Maurier’s introduction:
”‘Love in the Sun’ will make other writers feel ashamed. And, curiously enough, old-fashioned too. It is a revelation in the art of writing and may be one of the pioneers in a new renaissance which shall and must take place in our time if the novel is to survive at all. While we struggle to produce our complicated plots, all sex and psychology, fondly imagining we are drawing modern life while really we are as démodé as jazz and mah jong, Leo Walmsley gives the reader a true story, classic in its simplicity, of a man and a girl who possessed nothing in life but love for each other and faith in the future, and because of these things, were courageous and happy…”
How could I not bring it home after reading that?!
The story is indeed simple.
A man and a woman from Yorkshire are in love, and they run away to Cornwall. Life had become complicated, and they just want to build a life together and be happy.
“We were in love and we knew what we wanted. To have a little house close to the sea, a garden, a boat…”
They lease an old army hut – previously only used as temporary shelter – for their home. They create a garden and grow vegetables; they catch fish too; they collect driftwood to burn for fuel, and so they survive and build that life. So that he can write his novel and she can have their baby.
Yes, it really is that simple. But it works beautifully, because it is honest and true.
There are little incidents, and many ups and downs, along the way. A roof that cannot keep out the Cornish rain. A kitten rescued. A boat lost to strong tides. Desperate attempts to avoid a familiar face from home. An unexpected friendship. A failed attempt to sell surplus produce. All things that you can imagine the couple recalling fondly in later life.
A baby arrives, and so does a book. There are dark shadows: the man struggles to come to terms with the time and attention that the woman must give to the child, and with the pressure to produce a second book after the first is published.
But all of that falls away when the couple’s future is threatened. Their love comes to the fore, and with a little luck they will pull through.
It is impossible not to care: the man and the woman are utterly real, and every detail rings true.
We make life complicated, when it could be so simple.
Love in the Sun is simply lovely.
“”Yes,” she cried. “Yes, I’m certian of it. Everybody will want to read it. Everybody will want to buy it. How could people not help liking it? It’s so real. There’s nothing dull about it… It’s a grand book.”
“God!” I cried. “You’re right. It ought to go. It ought to sell in thousands.”
Words from Love in the Sun, but they could equally well be said about it. I am so pleased to see this reissue from the Leo Walmsley Society, and wish it every success.
November 10, 2022
In this obviously autobiographical novel set during the Depression, a young man deserts a small coastal village in North Yorkshire to avoid paying his debts; his girlfriend takes off with him, and the pair travels to another fishing village miles away in Cornwall. The narrator—whose name I'm not sure we ever learn—has a plan to repay his debts. He comes up with the brilliant idea of writing a best-selling novel while he and Dain, the girlfriend, refurbish an isolated shack in which Dain eventually delivers a baby girl. And so on and on. This is a naively written book filled with enormous amounts of detailed descriptions, but I'd read another Walmsley novel. Until I learned there was a Leo Walmsley Literary Society, I'd never heard of the guy, but I decided to give him a try. His books are hard to find in the U.S.
June 26, 2022
Somewhat dated, but a beautifully written account of a Cornwall that has all but disappeared.
November 28, 2014
The story of a young couple in an idyllic sounding Cornish Cove during the 1930's.
Full review here :https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2014/...
Full review here :https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2014/...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews