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147 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1943
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About the author
James Hanley
79 books13 followersBorn in Kirkdale, Liverpool, in 1897 (not Dublin, nor 1901 as he generally implied) to a working-class family, Hanley probably left school in 1911 and worked as a clerk, before going to sea in 1915 at the age of 17 (not 13 as he again implied). Thus life at sea was a formative influence and much of his early writing is about seamen.
Then, in April 1917, Hanley jumped ship in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, and shortly thereafter joined the Canadian Army in Fredericton, NB. Hanley fought in France in the summer of 1918, but was invalided out shortly thereafter. He then went to Toronto, Canada, for two months, in the winter of 1919, to be demobbed, before returning to Liverpool on 28 March 1919. He may have taken one final voyage before working as a railway porter in Bootle. In addition to working as a railway porter, he devoted himself "to a prodiguous range of autodidactic, high cultural activities – learning the piano ...attending ... concerts ... reading voraciously and, above all, writing." It is also probable that he later worked at a number of other jobs, while writing fiction in his spare time. However, it was not until 1929 that his novel Drift was accepted, and this was published in March, 1930.
Then, in April 1917, Hanley jumped ship in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, and shortly thereafter joined the Canadian Army in Fredericton, NB. Hanley fought in France in the summer of 1918, but was invalided out shortly thereafter. He then went to Toronto, Canada, for two months, in the winter of 1919, to be demobbed, before returning to Liverpool on 28 March 1919. He may have taken one final voyage before working as a railway porter in Bootle. In addition to working as a railway porter, he devoted himself "to a prodiguous range of autodidactic, high cultural activities – learning the piano ...attending ... concerts ... reading voraciously and, above all, writing." It is also probable that he later worked at a number of other jobs, while writing fiction in his spare time. However, it was not until 1929 that his novel Drift was accepted, and this was published in March, 1930.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 28, 2020
War and the Avant-Garde, NYU. About a nightmarish boarding house where people are sheltering from a bombing in the Blitz. Gotta admit it was uncomfortable and disconcerting, reading it now and just waiting in place. We're not sheltering from a bomb - but I guess we kind of are.
January 6, 2016
Claustrophobic WW2 chaos in a squalid London flat full of eccentrics of all ages and walks of life. This under-appreciated gem is quite simply, a blast (pun intended)!
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February 9, 2024read this in a terrified frenzy a day before an essay deadline (where I was supposed to write on it in comparison to The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene) which probably added to my feeling of incomprehension. this literally made no narrative sense. i was in despair. i've written the essay now, submitted without proofreading, oh well. glad to leave this behind. this term is insanely stressful!!!!!!!!!!
April 8, 2023
A drunken sailor, a tart, a painter, a baby, parents, tenants; a confusing narrative thread, but a powerful feeling of chaos in a rooming-house during a WWII air-raid.
May 8, 2024
First primary source for my dissertation done!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews