Arthur Calder-Marshall

Arthur Calder-Marshall (19 August 1908 – 17 April 1992) was an English novelist, essayist, critic, memoirist and biographer.

Career

A short, unhappy stint teaching English at Denstone College, Staffordshire, 1931–33, inspired his novel Dead Centre.[1]

In the 1930s, Calder-Marshall adopted strong left-wing views. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain [2] and was also a member of the London-based, left-wing Writers and Readers Group which also included Randall Swingler, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Mulk Raj Anand, Maurice Richardson and Rose Macaulay.[3]

In 1937, Calder-Marshall wrote scripts for MGM although none appears to have been filmed.[4]

Calder-Marshall's fiction and non-fiction covered a wide range of subjects. He himself remarked, I have never written two books on the same subject or with the same object.[5]

In the 1960s, Calder-Marshall took on commissioned work which included novelizations of movies such as the Dirk Bogarde film Victim and a children's novel about British spy James Bond's nephew.[6]

He was the father of the actress Anna Calder-Marshall and the grandfather of the actor Tom Burke.

Media adaptations

Orson Welles adapted The Way to Santiago in 1941 for RKO. However Welles's troubles with the studio saw to it that no film got made.

James Mason purchased the film rights to Occasion of Glory, intending to make this project his directorial debut. Mason hired Christopher Isherwood to write the script.[7]

Bibliography

Adult fiction

Novels:

Short fiction:

Play:

As William Drummond:

Children's fiction

As R. D. Mascott (attributed)

Adult non-fiction

Memoirs

Travel

Miscellany

Children's non-fiction

Editor

Calder-Marshall edited and wrote the introduction to:

References

  1. Pritchard, J.W.H. Appreciation: Mevagissey autobiography, quietly received - Arthur Calder-Marshall. The Guardian (London, England). (May 2, 1992): News: p28.
  2. Andy Croft, A Weapon in the Struggle: the cultural history of the Communist Party in Britain Pluto Press, 1998. ISBN 0745312047, (p. 26).
  3. Andy Croft, Comrade Heart: A Life of Randall Swingler. Manchester University Press, 2003. ISBN 0719063345 (p.71).
  4. Motion Picture Herald, 1937, Volume 128, announces that MGM has signed four writers including Calder-Marshall.
  5. Arthur Calder-Marshall; Obituary. Source: The Times (London, England). (Apr. 22, 1992): News: p13.
  6. Palmer, Martyn. Rider on the storm; The Times (London, England), 15 Jul 2006. p.8
  7. Isherwood, Christopher. Diaries: 1939-1960. Methuen, 1996.
  8. Some authorities attribute this work to Arthur Marshall (broadcaster).

Additional sources

External links

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