Bio: The English novelist John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (1903-69) wrote
his finest work under the pseudonym John Wyndham, though he had at least
seven others, all permutations of his lengthy name. Raised in Edgbaston,
Birmingham, he attended a number of English prep schools and began writing as
a sideline, while trying to make a career variously in law, farming,
commercial art and advertising. He began publishing stories in the early
1930s, many in American magazines, but he did not find his voice as the
writer John Wyndham until he returned from service in World War II.
The world had changed, and it was now gripped by the possibility of a nuclear
apocalypse. Wyndham was fascinated by apocalyptic scenarios, and his 1951
novel The Day of the Triffids transformed him as a writer. His distinctive
approach to fantasy is often classified as science fiction, though its
popularity far exceeds the genre. Following the publication of The Day of
the Triffids in 1951, Wyndham wrote a series of remarkable novels that
include The Kraken Wakes (1953), The Chrysalids (1955), The Midwich Cuckoos
(1957), The Trouble with Lichen (1960) and Chocky (1968) as well as the short
story collections Jizzle (1954), Tales of Gooseflesh and Laughter (1956), The
Seeds of Time (1956) and Consider Her Countless Ways and Others (1961).
Wyndham also wrote under a number of other pseudonyms, and several titles
were released under his name after his death in March of 1969. He remains
best known for the timeless terror of The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich
Cuckoos, the latter inspiring two memorable film versions titled Village of
the Damned.
when new books by John Wyndham are released.
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"All the reality of a vividly realized nightmare," The Times of London wrote of John Wyndham's terrifying post-apocalyptic thriller Day of the Triffids, published in 1951. The novel is often labeled science fiction, but it might best be described as a completely unnerving fantasy, even at the distance of half a century- for nothing dates this story of a world rendered helpless by a frightening, unearthly phenomenon. Triffids are odd but interesting plants that seem to appear in everyone's garden... more info>>
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Richard and Janet Gayford happened to spend the night of September 26 in London, not returning to their home in the village of Midwich until the following day. Only they have difficulty getting back into Midwich, and--in ways that are difficult to isolate--the village does not seem to be the same place it was the day before. The nightmare that descends on Midwich has dire implications for the rest of the world, sowing the seeds of a master race of ruthless, inhuman creatures bent on total domina... more info>>
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