Background
Wain, John Barrington was born on March 14, 1925 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Son of Arnold A. and Anne Wain.
("A great fund of comic invention." - Times Literary Suppl...)
"A great fund of comic invention." - Times Literary Supplement "Written with great spirit . . . very funny . . . fresh, unhackneyed and excellently observed." - Listener "[A] bustling kaleidoscope of a book, by an author fertile in expedient, keenly observant and occasionally probing the heart of darkness." - Sunday Times Charles Lumley feels that he has been born in captivity - the captivity of his smugly conventional bourgeois upbringing. Now he has just graduated from university, only to make the discouraging discovery that his education has rendered him unfit for any kind of useful employment. Wondering what to do with the rest of his life and longing to escape, a chance remark overheard in a pub sets him off on a picaresque and hilarious tour of 1950s Britain. He undergoes a string of comic misadventures as he works as a window cleaner, a drug trafficker, a hospital orderly, and a chauffeur, all while trying to find his place in the world and win the love of the beautiful Veronica Roderick. John Wain (1925-1994) was one of the great English men of letters of the 20th century, a prolific novelist, poet, biographer, and critic whose many accolades included the Somerset Maugham Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and the Whitbread Award. Hurry on Down (1953), his first novel, ushered in a new kind of English novel and paved the way for many later classics, including Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim (1954) and John Braine's Room at the Top (1957). This 60th anniversary edition includes an introduction by Nick Bentley and marks the novel's first republication in the United States in more than half a century.
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('A convincing tale, told with a tremendous gusto, full of...)
'A convincing tale, told with a tremendous gusto, full of genial sound and fury.' - Peter Quennell, Daily Express 'I liked it as I have liked all his novels . . . solid . . . full of meat, thoroughly thought-provoking.' - Julian Mitchell, The Spectator 'Mr. Wain's best and most ambitious novel to date.' - Birmingham Post 'The endless round of duties and responsibilities that had been palmed off on me as a life - it wasn't a life, it was a fraud, and I knew it.' So says teenager Jeremy Coleman, whose father, an austere classics professor, disapproves of the boy's preference for playing jazz music instead of learning Greek grammar. After a final falling-out with his father, Jeremy runs away from home, disappearing into the dives of wartime London, where he plays jazz for a living in seedy nightclubs while evading conscription. He soon encounters the other denizens of this strange twilight world of draft-dodgers and itinerant musicians, and his life changes forever when he meets a talented black jazzman from Baltimore, trombonist Percy Brett. They form a band, and their success in London and Paris leads to a big offer from an American recording executive. But on the eve of their greatest triumph, Jeremy and Percy become the targets of a vicious racial attack, a brutal assault that may have unexpected consequences for their musical future, and for Jeremy's relationship with his estranged father . . . John Wain's lifelong passion for jazz music permeates his classic fifth novel, Strike the Father Dead (1962), which won critical acclaim and showed a very different side to the author, whose Hurry on Down (1953) had been a smash success. This edition features a new introduction by Alice Ferrebe and a reproduction of the original jacket art by Victor Reinganum.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1941147186/?tag=2022091-20
(This book talks about that in the 1950s, a young man name...)
This book talks about that in the 1950s, a young man named Jeremy was born into an intellectual family. His mother was dead when he was a child and his father was a university professor who was very strict with his study. However, Jeremy thought that his fathers education and the restrictions from the school had limited his personality development, so he escaped from home and went to London and Paris to pursue his love of Jazz. After going through a lot of things, he realized that he had embarked on the same life path as the one of his father.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7544748537/?tag=2022091-20
('A convincing tale, told with a tremendous gusto, full of...)
'A convincing tale, told with a tremendous gusto, full of genial sound and fury.' - Peter Quennell, "Daily Express" 'I liked it as I have liked all his novels . . . solid . . . full of meat, thoroughly thought-provoking.' - Julian Mitchell, "The Spectator" BR> 'Mr. Wain's best and most ambitious novel to date.' - "Birmingham Post" 'The endless round of duties and responsibilities that had been palmed off on me as a life - it wasn't a life, it was a fraud, and I knew it.' So says teenager Jeremy Coleman, whose father, an austere classics professor, disapproves of the boy's preference for playing jazz music instead of learning Greek grammar. After a final falling-out with his father, Jeremy runs away from home, disappearing into the dives of wartime London, where he plays jazz for a living in seedy nightclubs while evading conscription. He soon encounters the other denizens of this strange twilight world of draft-dodgers and itinerant musicians, and his life changes forever when he meets a talented black jazzman from Baltimore, trombonist Percy Brett. They form a band, and their success in London and Paris leads to a big offer from an American recording executive. But on the eve of their greatest triumph, Jeremy and Percy become the targets of a vicious racial attack, a brutal assault that may have unexpected consequences for their musical future, and for Jeremy's relationship with his estranged father . . . John Wain's lifelong passion for jazz music permeates his classic fifth novel, "Strike the Father Dead" (1962), which won critical acclaim and showed a very different side to the author, whose "Hurry on Down" (1953) had been a smash success. This edition features a new introduction by Alice Ferrebe and a reproduction of the original jacket art by Victor Reinganum.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VXIMHS6/?tag=2022091-20
('A classic.' - Susan Hill, author of The Woman in Black a...)
'A classic.' - Susan Hill, author of The Woman in Black and I'm King of the Castle 'John Wain's best novel in a long time . . . an interesting story . . . stunning.' - The Observer 'John Wain's contribution to the gathering army of lone, upset figures is a notable one.' - William Trevor, Books and Bookmen 'Harrowing but deeply compassionate . . . marks a new and impressive development in Mr. Wain's writing.' British Book News 'This searching novel throws a critical spotlight on the life that the modern world compels us to lead.' - Encounter Arthur Geary, a 45-year-old research scientist, quits his job and leaves his wife and children, taking up residence in a hotel near Paddington Station, where he passes all his time sitting on the platforms, watching the people and trains come and go. Overwhelmed by the stresses of modern life, including his difficult job and failing marriage, Geary finds the limitless sky of London unbearable and seeks refuge beneath the 'smaller sky' of the glass-roofed station. But when friends and family become concerned with his unusual behaviour, and he begins to be hounded by psychiatrists and television reporters, Geary's search for peace and freedom becomes increasingly desperate . . . One of the great English men of letters of the 20th century, John Wain (1925-1994) won almost every major British literary award during a career that spanned five decades, and his works are now being rediscovered. The Smaller Sky (1967), a classic novel of alienation and despair, is one of Wain's most enduring achievements and returns to print for the first time in more than 35 years. This edition includes a new introduction by Alice Ferrebe.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193914034X/?tag=2022091-20
(The lost novel, winner of the 1982 Whitbread Prize. New l...)
The lost novel, winner of the 1982 Whitbread Prize. New life flowering from death, new perspectives arising from suffering, a new peace that comes from being tested to the uttermost. To 17 year old Paul Waterford life is beginning to seem a sour business, full of unsolved problems, unhappiness and general stress. Why did his young sister have to die in an air disaster? Why is his parents' marriage so evidently close to breaking up? Tired of the world as he sees it, Paul retreats into the fantasy of an ideal republic, the magnetic centre of his fantasies. But under the pressure of extreme circumstances a lot can change in 24 hours.
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(Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are tryi...)
Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween, which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Road. The Abernathys don't mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld, but when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe, a gap through which a pair of enormous gates is visible. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out.... Can one small boy defeat evil? Can he harness the power of science, faith, and love to save the world as we know it? Bursting with imagination and impossible to put down, The Gates is about the pull between good and evil, physics and fantasy and the courage of a boy who is barely old enough to trick or treat on his own. This novel makes anything seem possible.
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(In this delightfully imaginative novel, once again, hell ...)
In this delightfully imaginative novel, once again, hell threatens to break loose as Samuel Johnson and his ragtag group of friends must defend their town from shadowy forces more threatening than ever before... In this clever and quirky follow-up to The Gates and The Infernals, Samuel Johnson's life seems to have finally settled down—after all, he’s still got the company of his faithful dachshund, Boswell, and his bumbling demon friend, Nurd; he has foiled the dreaded forces of darkness not once, but twice; and he’s dating the lovely Lucy Highmore, to boot. But things in the little English town of Biddlecombe rarely run smoothly for long. Shadows are gathering in the skies, a black heart of pure evil is bubbling with revenge, and it rather looks as if the Multiverse is about to come to an end, starting with Biddlecombe. When a new toy shop’s opening goes terrifyingly awry, Samuel must gather a ragtag band of dwarfs, policemen, and very polite monsters to face down the greatest threat the Multiverse has ever known, not to mention assorted vampires, a girl with an unnatural fondness for spiders, and highly flammable unfriendly elves. The latest installment of John Connolly’s wholly original and creepily imaginative Samuel Johnson Tales, The Creeps is humorous horror for anyone who enjoys fiction at its best.
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( This is the first and only scholarly edition of Sir Joh...)
This is the first and only scholarly edition of Sir John Hawkins’s Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D., a work that has not been widely available in complete form for more than two hundred years. Published in 1787, some four years before James Boswell's biography of Johnson, Hawkins's Life complements, clarifies, and often corrects numerous aspects of Boswell's Life. Samuel Johnson (1709-84) is the most significant English writer of the second half of the eighteenth century; indeed, this period is widely known as the Age of Johnson. Hawkins was Johnson's friend and legal adviser and the chief executor of his will. He knew Johnson longer and in many respects better than other biographers, including Boswell, who made unacknowledged use of Hawkins's Life and helped orchestrate the critical attacks that consigned the book to obscurity. Sir John Hawkins had special insight into Johnson's mental states at various points in his life, his early days in London, his association with the Gentleman's Magazine, and his political views and writings. Hawkins's use of historical and cultural details, an uncommon literary device at the time, produced one of the earliest "life and times" biographies in our language. The Introduction by O M Brack, Jr., covers the history of the composition, publication, and reception of the Life and provides a context in which it should be read. Annotations address historical, literary, and linguistic uncertainties, and a full textual apparatus documents how Brack arrived at this definitive text of Hawkins's Life.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0820344273/?tag=2022091-20
( This is the first and only scholarly edition of Sir Joh...)
This is the first and only scholarly edition of Sir John Hawkins’s Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D., a work that has not been widely available in complete form for more than two hundred years. Published in 1787, some four years before James Boswell's biography of Johnson, Hawkins's Life complements, clarifies, and often corrects numerous aspects of Boswell's Life. Samuel Johnson (1709-84) is the most significant English writer of the second half of the eighteenth century; indeed, this period is widely known as the Age of Johnson. Hawkins was Johnson's friend and legal adviser and the chief executor of his will. He knew Johnson longer and in many respects better than other biographers, including Boswell, who made unacknowledged use of Hawkins's Life and helped orchestrate the critical attacks that consigned the book to obscurity. Sir John Hawkins had special insight into Johnson's mental states at various points in his life, his early days in London, his association with the Gentleman's Magazine, and his political views and writings. Hawkins's use of historical and cultural details, an uncommon literary device at the time, produced one of the earliest "life and times" biographies in our language. The Introduction by O M Brack, Jr., covers the history of the composition, publication, and reception of the Life and provides a context in which it should be read. Annotations address historical, literary, and linguistic uncertainties, and a full textual apparatus documents how Brack arrived at this definitive text of Hawkins's Life.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0820344273/?tag=2022091-20
(“Roald Dahl meets Harry Potter”* in this wonderfully stra...)
“Roald Dahl meets Harry Potter”* in this wonderfully strange and brilliant novel about a boy, his dog, and their struggle to escape the wrath of demons. Young Samuel Johnson is in trouble. Not only is his eyesight so poor that he mistakenly asks out a letter box on a date but an angry demon wants revenge for Samuel’s part in foiling the invasion of Earth by the forces of evil. When Samuel and his faithful dachshund, Boswell, are pulled through a portal into the dark realm, home of the Infernals, it gets its chance. Catching Samuel won’t be easy, for the Infernals have not reckoned on the bravery and cleverness of a boy and his dog; a hapless demon’s loyalty to the duo; or the presence of two clueless policemen and an unlucky, if cheerfully optimistic, ice-cream man. Most of all, no one has planned on the intervention of an unexpected band of little men who also have recently found themselves in the underworld. If you thought demons were frightening, just wait until you meet Mr. Merryweather’s Elves. . . . *My Shelf Confessions
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451643098/?tag=2022091-20
(Brief readings for teenagers on dealing with their feelin...)
Brief readings for teenagers on dealing with their feelings--feelings about being fat, needing forgiveness, being real, doing favors, not being near God, and being in love.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817010351/?tag=2022091-20
( In business, sports and life, it takes more than knowle...)
In business, sports and life, it takes more than knowledge and good technique to achieve great performances with consistency. The challenges you need to win aren’t always terrific plays, perfect golf shots, record sales or great new ideas. Instead, in any arena in life, it is command of the emotional challenges that separates winners from wannabes, contenders from pretenders. Contenders who achieve consistently outstanding results all demonstrate key characteristics and practice specific winning techniques that you can learn. The inconsistent performance of pretenders in business, sports and life can be traced to common missteps that you can avoid. If you are a leader who wants to lead more effectively, a worker who wants to achieve more, an athlete who wants to win more, or you want better performance in all areas of your life, you need this book. Filled with practical and innovative high-performance tools like the Emotional Spiral, the Emotional Inventory and the Emotional Caddie, You are a Contender! Build Emotional Muscle to Perform Better and Achieve More in Business, Sports and Life will teach you how to make the move from sometimes-star to consistent performer. It will show you how to train your emotional muscles to handle any experience and challenge with strength and confidence.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160037686X/?tag=2022091-20
( Why Does God Allow Suffering And Evil? Hard Ques...)
Why Does God Allow Suffering And Evil? Hard Questions about God aren't going away. * Why do bag things happen to good people? * Why doesn't God do something about suffering and evil? * How could God really send anyone to hell? How will you respond? The challenging uncertainties in your mind, or in the mind of someone you know, are worth taking the time to explore. In six engaging sessions designed to get small groups talking, each guide in the Contenders Bible Study Series deals head-on-with some of the controversies commonly asked about Christianity. You will dialogue in the process of study and spiritual conversations that will lead you to conclude that the Christian faith can stand up you any challenge. Sessions Topics 1 Where did suffering and evil begin? 2 Why doesn't God do something about suffering and evil? 3 Why do good things happen to bad people? 4 Do Heaven and Hell really exist? 5 Does Satan really exist? 6 How could God really send anyone to hell?
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(After graduating from college, the hero, Charles, feels c...)
After graduating from college, the hero, Charles, feels confused in a rapidly changing postwar society. He tries to fight against the traditional society, establish and maintain himself. He vows to get rid of the bondage of money and position, and rejects the convenience of promotion created by the education he received (the bondage of money and position, and rejects the convenience of promotion created by the education he received). Eventually, he painfully discovered his efforts were in vain, and he had fallen to the bottom of society. Soul and body are in danger on the brink of destruction. Those things he ever strongly rejected are luring him. To the reader, this book presents a true picture of the then United Kingdom society.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7544733610/?tag=2022091-20
( How Do We Know The Bible Is True? Questions about God...)
How Do We Know The Bible Is True? Questions about God aren't going away. * Why should I believe the Bible? * What makes its more authoritative than other historical documents? * Isn't the Bible full of myths and legends? How will you respond? The challenging uncertainties in your mind, or in the mind of someone you know, are worth taking the time to explore. In six engaging sessions designed to get small groups talking, each guide in the Contenders Bible Study Series deals head-on-with some of the controversies commonly asked about Christianity. You will dialogue in the process of study and spiritual conversations that will lead you to conclude that the Christian faith can stand up you any challenge. Session Topics 1 How did we get the Bible? 2 Isn't the Bible full of myths and legends? 3 What about those "lost books" of the Bible? 4 What about all the contradictions? 5 Why do Christians believe the Bible is perfect? 6 How do we know the words haven't been changed?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0899577792/?tag=2022091-20
(The Contenders study series of books combine Bible study ...)
The Contenders study series of books combine Bible study with spiritual conversations that will lead readers to conclude that the Christian faith can stand up to any challenge.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0899577806/?tag=2022091-20
( No area of Johnsonian studies has been less appreciated...)
No area of Johnsonian studies has been less appreciated and more misunderstood than Johnson's response to history. Popular notions to the effect that he was insensitive to history have discouraged scholars and critics from discovering the role history played in his thinking. In this first book-length investigation of the subject, John A. Vance concludes that few misconceptions about Samuel Johnson have been so glaring as his supposed dislike of history. More specifically, in separate chapters Vance examines the development of Johnson's historical sense--from his readings, heritage, and travels to historical sites; Johnson's recall and use of historical figures and events, most notably the seventeenth-century attitude toward the most maligned member of the historical family, antiquarianism. The author also devotes two chapters to Johnson's historical writings--that is, those works in which he either incorporates history into his critical, biographical, and political discussions or those in which he clearly assumes the role of historian himself. Vance furthermore considers Johnson's views on historical facts, educative and moral history, the broadening scope of historical investigation, the nature of historical truth and skepticism, historical research, historical causation, and the historian's style.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0820307122/?tag=2022091-20
(Samuel Johnson - with a little help from his dachshund Bo...)
Samuel Johnson - with a little help from his dachshund Boswell and a very unlucky demon named Nurd - has sent the demons back to Hell. But the diabolical Mrs Abernathy is not one to take defeat lying down. When she reopens the portal and sucks Samuel and Boswell down into the underworld, she brings an ice-cream van full of dwarfs as well. And two policemen. Can this eccentric gang defeat the forces of Evil? And is there life after Hell for Nurd?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1444724940/?tag=2022091-20
( HOW DO WE KNOW GOD EXIST? Questions about God aren't g...)
HOW DO WE KNOW GOD EXIST? Questions about God aren't going away. * Is God really out there? * How can we know he is real? * Even if God is real, is he involved in our lives today? How will you respond? The challenging uncertainties in your mind, or in the mind of someone you know, are worth taking the time to explore. In six engaging sessions designed to get small groups talking, each guide in the Contenders Bible Study Series deals head-on-with some of the controversies commonly asked about Christianity. You will dialogue in the process of study and spiritual conversations that will lead you to conclude that the Christian faith can stand up you any challenge. SESSION TOPICS 1 Is God really out there? 2 How can we know is God is real? 3 What is God like? 4 Are miracles possible? 5 Is God involved in our lives today? 6 How can we know God personally?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0899577814/?tag=2022091-20
(This is a specific how-to guide in creating and deliverin...)
This is a specific how-to guide in creating and delivering a conversation with a candidate that brings out their character and attitude for the sole purpose of assessing their suitability for joining your organization. For smaller organizations, an alternative approach to the hiring interview is provided where the top executive's interview with the candidate happens near the beginning of the process. This guide includes preparation, where to have this conversation, who should be present, how to construct questions, effectively using incremental verbal agreements to guide the candidate to being forthcoming, and laying the foundation to create loyalty and commitment to the organization's values. These suggestions are evolutions from strategies used in formal interviewing and negotiations. Guidance is provided to avoid the common mistakes of selecting marginal candidates. Suggested templates and checklists are provided as a means to inspire your own approach. In addition, including the new employee's spouse in a conversation with the organization's leadership team is suggested. When the boss' interview is truly a formality because the screening and selection process was previously done, suggestions are provided on how to conduct this conversation. The author draws upon decades of experience and conducting training in this area.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1507744072/?tag=2022091-20
(Single issue of this important Mormon magazine.)
Single issue of this important Mormon magazine.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HW7F9J6/?tag=2022091-20
Wain, John Barrington was born on March 14, 1925 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Son of Arnold A. and Anne Wain.
Master of Arts, Oxford University. Doctor of Letters (honorary), University Keele, 1985. Doctor of Letters (honorary), University Loughborough, 1985.
Lecturer English literature University Reading, 1947-1955. Freelance writer, literature critic, 1955-1994. Churchill visiting professor University Bristol, 1967.
Visiting professor Centre Experimental University, Vincennes, France. George Elliston lecturer on poetry, University Cincinnati. Professor poetry Oxford University, 1973-1978, fellow Brasenose College, 1973-1994.
Director 1st Poetry at the Mermaid Festival, London, 1961.
(This is a specific how-to guide in creating and deliverin...)
(In this delightfully imaginative novel, once again, hell ...)
(Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are tryi...)
(The Contenders study series of books combine Bible study ...)
(Brief readings for teenagers on dealing with their feelin...)
(Set in Oxford, this novel is the first of a projected tri...)
(“Roald Dahl meets Harry Potter”* in this wonderfully stra...)
(Samuel Johnson - with a little help from his dachshund Bo...)
( In business, sports and life, it takes more than knowle...)
( No area of Johnsonian studies has been less appreciated...)
(This book talks about that in the 1950s, a young man name...)
(After graduating from college, the hero, Charles, feels c...)
( This is the first and only scholarly edition of Sir Joh...)
( This is the first and only scholarly edition of Sir Joh...)
( Why Does God Allow Suffering And Evil? Hard Ques...)
('A convincing tale, told with a tremendous gusto, full of...)
('A convincing tale, told with a tremendous gusto, full of...)
( How Do We Know The Bible Is True? Questions about God...)
( HOW DO WE KNOW GOD EXIST? Questions about God aren't g...)
(The lost novel, winner of the 1982 Whitbread Prize. New l...)
(Single issue of this important Mormon magazine.)
("A great fund of comic invention." - Times Literary Suppl...)
(Poems written to his friends.)
(Book by Wain, John)
('A classic.' - Susan Hill, author of The Woman in Black a...)
Author: (poetry) Mixed Feelings, 1951, Weep Before God, 1961, Letters to Five Artists, 1969, Poems 1949-1979, 1981. (novels) Hurry on Down, 1953, The Contenders, 1958, Strike the Father Dead, 1962, The Smaller Sky, 1967, The Pardoner's Tale, 1978, Young Shoulders (Whitebread award), 1982, Where the Rivers Meet, 1988. (non-fiction) The Living World of Shakespeare, 1964, A House for the Truth, 1972, Samuel Johnson (Heinemann award 1975), 1974, Professing Poetry, 1977.
Also short stories. Editor books on poets, poetry.
Married 1st Eirian James in 1960 (died in 1988). Married 2nd Patricia Dunn in 1989.