Career
In the 1930s, Thomas owned a Bournemouth-based antiquarian bookshop, Commin"s Bookshop. Thomas was a lifelong correspondent of Lawrence Durrell, and in 1937 visited him on Corfu, recording his impressions of the trip in a private diary. Thomas is also the editor of Spirit of Place: Essays and Letters on Travel (1969), a compendium of letters and essays by British author and poet Lawrence Durrell.
He is also the author of several volumes on different topics including Lawrence Durrell"s life and works and antiquarian book collecting, including:
Spirit of Place: Essays and Letters on Travel (by Lawrence Durrell, edited by Alan G Thomas) (1969)
Fine Books: Pleasures and Treasures (1971)
Fine Books and Book Collecting: books and manuscripts acquired from Alan G. Thomas and described by his customers on the occasion of his seventieth birthday (co-authors: Christopher De Hamel and Richard A Linenthal) (1981)
Great Books and Book Collectors (1983)
Lawrence Durrell: an illustrated checklist (co-author James A Brigham) (1983)
A collection of Thomas"s letters to James A. Brigham is held at the University of Victoria.