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Oliver Onions

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For the Italian music group Oliver Onions, seeGuido & Maurizio De Angelis.

Oliver Onions
Onions circa 1915
Onions circa 1915
BornGeorge Oliver Onions
(1873-11-13)13 November 1873
Bradford,Yorkshire, England
Died9 April 1961(1961-04-09)(aged 87)
Aberystwyth,Wales
Pen nameOliver Onions
OccupationNovelist
GenreDetective fiction,ghost stories,romance novels,historical fiction
SpouseBerta Ruck(1909–1961)
Children2

George Oliver Onions[1](13 November 1873 – 9 April 1961), who published under the nameOliver Onions,was an English writer of short stories and novels. He wrote in various genres, but is perhaps best remembered for hisghost stories,notably the collectionWiddershinsand the widely anthologized novella "The Beckoning Fair One". He was married to the novelistBerta Ruck.

Personal life

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George Oliver Onions was born on 13 November 1873 inBradford,Yorkshire, England, to George Frederick Onions, a bank cashier (born 1847, London, England) and Emily Alice Fearnley (born 1850, Scholes, Yorkshire, England).[2]He studied art for three years in London at the National Arts Training Schools (now theRoyal College of Art). In the bookTwentieth Century Authors,Onions described his interests asmotoringand science; he was also an amateur boxer as a young man.[3]

In 1909, Onions married the writerBerta Ruck(1878–1978) and they had two sons: Arthur (born 1912) and William (born 1913).[3]In 1918, he legally changed his name to George Oliver, but continued to publish under the name Oliver Onions.

He died on 9 April 1961 inAberystwyth,Wales.

Writing career

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Originally trained as acommercial artist,he worked as a designer of posters and books and as a magazine illustrator during theBoer War.Encouraged by the American writerGelett Burgess,Onions began writing fiction.[3]The first editions of his novels were published with dust jackets bearing full-colour illustrations painted by Onions himself.[3]

Poor Man's Tapestry(1946) and its prequel,Arras of Youth(1949) are about the adventures of a juggler, Robert Gandelyn, in the 14th century.[4]The Story of Ragged Robyn(1945) focuses on the adventures of the titular stonemason at the end of the 17th century.[5]Onions wrote two detective novels:A Case in CameraandIn Accordance with the Evidence.[6]Two of his works are science fiction novels:New Moon(1918) about autopianBritain, andThe Tower of Oblivion(1921), featuring a middle-aged man who recedes back to his youth.[7]A Certain Man(1931), about a magical suit of clothes, andA Shilling to Spend(1965), about a self-perpetuating coin, are fantasy novels.[8]

Onions wrote several collections focusing onghost storiesand otherweird fiction.The best known of these collections isWiddershins(1911).[9][10][11]It includes the novella "The Beckoning Fair One",widely placed among the best in the genre ofhorror fiction,especiallypsychological horror.[10]On the surface, it is a conventional haunted house story: an unsuccessful writer moves into rooms in an otherwise empty house, in the hope that isolation will help his failing creativity. His sensitivity and imagination are enhanced by his seclusion, but his art, his only friend and his sanity are all destroyed in the process. The story can be read as narrating the gradual possession of the protagonist by a mysterious and possessive feminine spirit, or as a realistic description of apsychoticoutbreak culminating incatatoniaand murder, told from the psychotic subject's point of view. The precise description of the slow disintegration of the protagonist's mind is terrifying in either case.

A theme that "The Beckoning Fair One" shares with others of Onions's stories is a connection between creativity and insanity; here the artist is in danger of withdrawing from the world altogether and losing himself in his creation.[11]Another noted story fromWiddershinsis "Rooum", about an engineer pursued by a mysterious entity.[11][12]Other ghost stories such as "The Cigarette Case", "The Rosewood Door" and "The Rope in the Rafters" involve time and identity shifts.[13]

The title novella ofThe Painted Face(1929) concerns a Greek girl'sreincarnationof an ancient spirit;Mike Ashleydescribes it as "one of the finest works in the genre".[12]The collection also contains "The Master of the House", a story involving awerewolfandblack magic.[11]

A long supernatural horror novel isThe Hand of Kornelius Voyt,about an isolated boy who falls under thepsychicinfluence of a mysterious man.[13]Onions was awarded theJames Tait Black Memorial Prizefor his 1946 novelPoor Man's Tapestry.[3]

Reception and influence

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Onions' work has largely been well received.Gahan Wilsonranked him as "one of the best, if not the best, ghost story writers working in the English language.... Mr. Onions did as much as anyone to move phantoms and other haunts from dark, Gothic dungeons to the very room in which you presently sit."[14]Discussing ghost stories,Algernon Blackwooddescribed "The Beckoning Fair One" as "the most horrible and beautiful ever written on those lines".[12]J. B. PriestleydescribedWiddershinsas a "book of fine creepy stories".[15]Fellow ghost story writerA. M. Burragesaid of Onions' work, "There is some hair-raising stuff inWiddershins",and added" there is great literary excellence in this book, besides satisfaction for the mere seeker after thrills. "[16]Robert Aickmannamed "The Beckoning Fair One" as "one of the (possibly) six great masterpieces in the field".[12]E. F. BleilerlaudedWiddershinsas "a landmark book in the history of supernatural fiction".[17]Clemence Danestated of Onions, "His books have a lasting attraction for a reader who enjoys using his brains and his imagination."[3]AnIrish Timesreview ofArras of Youthstated, "Mr. Onions writes limpid and often beautiful prose."[4]Martin Seymour-Smithdescribed Onions'sWhom God Hath Sunderedtrilogy as a neglected classic: "In Accordance with the Evidenceis the masterpiece of the three, but the other sequels in no way disgrace it. "[18]Neil Wilson calls Onions' supernatural works "notable for their depth of psychological insight, elegant writing and sophisticated plots". Wilson notes that

'The Beckoning Fair One' (1911) is regarded by many as one of the greatest English tales of the supernatural but has overshadowed Onions' other work in the genre which some consider of equal, if not greater, importance. In fact, the majority of the author's supernatural fiction is of an extremely high standard and is notable for its originality, subtlety and careful characterizations which lift it well above the average.[19]

On the other hand,H.P. Lovecraft'sassessment of Onions' work was negative; in a 1936 letter toJ. Vernon Shea,Lovecraft stated, "I have Onions'Ghosts in Daylight.... I didn't care much for the various tales. "[20]

Karl Edward Wagner's short story "In the Pines" (1973) pays homage to Onions's "The Beckoning Fair One".[21]"The Beckoning Fair One" was also the inspiration for a 1968 Italian/French horror film calledA Quiet Place in the Countryby prominent Italian director Elio Petri, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero.Russell Hobanalludes to Onions' work in his booksHer Name Was LolaandAmaryllis Night and Day.[22]

Selected bibliography

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Novels

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  • The Compleat Bachelor(1900)
  • Tales from a Far Riding(1902)
  • The Odd-Job Man(1903)
  • The Drakestone(1906)
  • Pedlar's Pack(1908)
  • The Exception(1910)
  • In Accordance with the Evidence(1910)
  • Good Boy Seldom: A Romance of Advertisement(1911)
  • A Crooked Mile(1914)
  • The Debit Account(1913)
  • The Two Kisses: A Tale of a Very Modern Courtship(1913)
  • The Story of Louie(1913)
  • Mushroom Town(1914)
  • The New Moon: A Romance of Reconstruction(1918)
  • A Case in Camera(1920)
  • The Tower of Oblivion(1921)
  • Peace in Our Time(1923)
  • The Spite of Heaven(1926)
  • Cut Flowers(1927)
  • Little Devil Doubt(1929)
  • The Open Secret(1930)
  • A Certain Man(1932)
  • Catalan Circus(1934)
  • The Hand of Kornelius Voyt(1939)
  • Cockcrow; or, Anybody's England(1940)
  • The Story of Ragged Robyn(1945)
  • Poor Man's Tapestry(1946)
  • Arras of Youth(1949)
  • A Penny for the Harp(1952)
  • A Shilling to Spend(1965)

Omnibus collections

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  • Admiral Eddy(1907)
  • Draw in Your Stool(1909)
  • Gray Youth(1913), US omnibus ofThe Two KissesandA Crooked Mile
  • Whom God Hath Sundered(1925), omnibus ofIn Accordance with the Evidence,The Debit AccountandThe Story of Louie
  • The Italian Chest(1939)

Story collections

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  • Back o' the Moon(1906): "Back o’ the Moon", "The Pillers", "Skelf-Mary", "Lad-Lass", "The Fairway"
  • Widdershins(1911): "The Beckoning Fair One", "Phantas", "Rooum", "Benlian", "Io", "The Accident", "The Cigarette Case", "Hic Jacet"
  • Ghosts in Daylight(1924): "The Ascending Dream", "The Dear Dryad", "The Real People", "The Woman in the Way”, "The Honey in the Wall"
  • The Painted Face(1929): "The Painted Face", "The Rosewood Door", "The Master of the House"
  • The Collected Ghost Stories(London: Nicholson & Watson, 1935): Omnibus volume comprisingWiddershins,Ghosts in DaylightandThe Painted Face
  • Bells Rung Backward(1953): "The Rosewood Door", "The Woman in the Way", "The Honey in the Wall", "John Gladwin Says... "," The Painted Face "
  • Ghost Stories(2003), introduced by Rosalie Parker: "Credo", "The Beckoning Fair One", "Phantas", "Rooum", "Benlian", "Io" ( "The Lost Thyrsus" ), "The Accident", "The Cigarette Case", "Hic Jacet", "The Rocker", "The Ascending Dream", "Dear Dryad", "The Real People", "The Woman in the Way", "The Honey in the Wall", "John Gladwin Says... "," The Painted Face "," The Rosewood Door "," The Smile of Karen "," The Out-Sister "," The Rope in the Rafters "," Resurrection in Bronze "," Tragic Casements "

References

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  1. ^Pronounced by his family as in the vegetable, notoh-NY-ons.SeeTwentieth Century Authors,1950.
  2. ^England Census 1881
  3. ^abcdefKunitz, Stanley J.;Haycraft, Howard, eds. (1950).Twentieth Century Authors: A Biographical Dictionary of Modern Literature(3rd ed.). New York: H. W. Wilson. pp. 1051–52.
  4. ^ab"Recent Fiction by" B.M "" (Review ofArras of Youth),The Irish Times,23 July 1949.
  5. ^F. Seymour Smith,What Shall I Read Next? A Personal Selection of Twentieth Century English Books.Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010.ISBN0521064929,(p.95).
  6. ^Allen J. Hubin,Crime fiction, 1749–1980: a comprehensive bibliography.Garland Publishing, 1984. (p. 305)
  7. ^E. F. BleilerandRichard Bleiler.Science-Fiction: The Early Years.Kent State University Press, 1990. (p.575-76).ISBN9780873384162.
  8. ^Brian Stableford, "Onions, Oliver", inThe A to Z of Fantasy LiteratureScarecrow Press, Plymouth. 2005.ISBN0-8108-6829-6,p. 309.
  9. ^"Another author of weird fiction associated with the Edwardian period is Oliver Onions (1873–1961), an erstwhile illustrator who began writing for the periodicals in the 1890s, publishing his first novel in 1900." James Machin,Weird Fiction in Britain, 1880-1939.Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018ISBN9783319905266,p. 85.
  10. ^abKeith Neilson,"Collected Ghost Stories of Oliver Onions, The" inFrank N. Magill,ed.Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature,Vol 1. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, Inc., 1983. (pp.294–299).ISBN0-89356-450-8
  11. ^abcdNorman Donaldson,"Oliver Onions", in E. F. Bleiler, ed.Supernatural Fiction Writers.New York: Scribner's, 1985. pp. 505–512ISBN0684178087.
  12. ^abcdMike Ashley,"Oliver Onions:The Man at the Edge" inDarrell Schweitzer,ed.Discovering Classic Horror Fiction I,Starmont House, pp. 120–126.ISBN1-55742-084-X
  13. ^abMike Ashley, "Onions,Oliver",S. T. Joshiand Dziemianowicz, ed.Supernatural Literature of the World: an encyclopedia.Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005.ISBN0313327742,pp. 874–875).
  14. ^"Books",F&SF,May 1973, pp. 75–76.
  15. ^J. B. Priestley,The Edwardians,Harper and Row, 1970, p. 129.
  16. ^A. M. Burrage, "The Supernatural in Fiction",The Home Magazine,October 1921. Reprinted in Burrage,Someone in the Room: Strange Tales Old and New,ed. Jack Adrian. Ashcroft, B.C.:Ash-Tree Press,1997ISBN9781899562381.
  17. ^E. F. Bleiler,The Guide to Supernatural Fiction,Kent State University Press, 1983, p. 392.
  18. ^Martin Seymour-Smith, "Forgotten Classic".Scotland on Sunday,22 February 1998, p. 26.)
  19. ^Neil Wilson,Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British supernatural fiction, 1820–1950British Library, London, 2000.ISBN0712310746,p. 298.
  20. ^S. T. Joshi(2002)Lovecraft's Library: A Catalogue,p. 108, Hippocampus PressISBN0967321573.
  21. ^"The tale is a retelling of sorts of Oliver Onions' classic ghost story 'The Beckoning Fair One' (which Wagner references in his story) and it shows how well Wagner understood the mechanics of the horror tale." Stefan Dziemianowicz,Review ofWhere the Summer EndsandWalk on the Wild Sideby Karl Edward Wagner.Locus Magazine, 13 May 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  22. ^"He also references Gothic writers who have influenced him, such asMargaret Oliphantand Oliver Onions ". Review ofHer Name Was Lolaby Russell Hoban.The Times,8 November 2003, p. 14.

Sources

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  • Leonard R. N. Ashley, "Onions, (George) Oliver (1873–1961)",Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,Oxford University Press, 2004
  • Oliver Onions (George Oliver)atFantasticfiction

Further reading

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  • Frank Swinnerton,"Oliver Onions andJ. D. Beresford",inThe Georgian Literary Scene, 1910–1935(London: Heinemann, [1935])
  • Hugh Cecil,The Flower of Battle: British Fiction Writers in the First World War(London: Secker & Warburg, 1995) - chapter 11
  • Brian Stableford,"Onions, (George) Oliver", inDavid Pringle,ed.,St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers(Detroit: St. James Press, 1998)ISBN1558622063
  • Glen Cavaliero,"Daylight Ghosts: The Novels and Stories of Oliver Onions",Wormwood2,2004
  • Oliver Tearle. "Re-reflections: Oliver Onions". InBewilderments of Vision.Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2014.ISBN978-0-8240-0059-2.
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