Beresford, Leslie
Entry updated 18 September 2023. Tagged: Author.
Principal pseudonym – adopted circa 1910 – of UK author Charles Beresford Painter (1878-1946), who has been inaccurately listed as having published "A Story of Horseshoes" for Short Stories (week ending 12 March 1898) as by Pan – but who in fact began his publishing career with The Second Rising: A Romance of India (1910), a Future War novel about the Second Indian Mutiny. Two Utopian Scientific Romances soon followed: The Kingdom of Content (1918), under the pseudonym Pan (hence the above-cited confusion), which pictures an enclave that survives the End of the World without; and The Great Image (1921) also as by Pan, a Near Future tale about labour unrest. Under his own name he then wrote Mr Appleton Awakes (20 April-15 June 1923 Yellow Magazine as "The Awakening of Mr Appleton"; 1924; cut 1932), in which a giant submersible zeppelin (see Airships) pillages Britain from the air and the seas; and a humorous novel in the manner of F Anstey about a sensuous She-like Alien from Venus with supranormal powers, The Venus Girl (February-October 1923 Romance UK; 1924; cut 1933); the protagonist, a wealthy young composer, must resist the music of her allure.
Beresford was quite prolific in the magazine market, with works like "The Power Fiends" (coll of linked stories March-June 1916 The Grand Magazine), whose Yellow Peril antagonists pine after world domination; other stories in Boys' Papers include The Invasion of The Iron-Clad Army: Gripping Yarn of War Thrills in 1962 (11 March-27 May 1922 The Champion as "The War of Revenge"; 1928 chap), a Future War tale featuring an Invasion of Britain by a resurgent Germany armed with numerous new Weapons, "The Purple Planet" (1922 Young Britain), an early Planetary Romance and "The People of the Ice" (1922 Champion), a Lost-World adventures – to the Boys' Papers. He also contributed various tales to the British general fiction magazines, including "The Moon Men" (24 September 1920 Premier Magazine), about an Invasion of Earth; "The Octopus Orchid" (16 September 1921 Red Magazine); "The Crawling Beach" (28 August 1923 The Green Magazine), which is cosmic horror (see Horror in SF); "The Last Woman" (23 March 1923 Yellow Magazine), about an Earth-destroying Disaster (see Last Man); "The Stranger from Somewhere" (31 August 1923 Red Magazine); and The Flying Fish (11 May 1931 The Boys' Friend Library: whole issue), among others. [JE]
see also: Boys' Friend Library.
Charles Beresford Painter
born Derby, Derbyshire: 23 April 1878
died Dorking, Surrey: 18 May 1946
works
- The Second Rising: A Romance of India (London: Hurst and Blackett, 1910) [hb/]
- The Kingdom of Content (London: Mills and Boon, 1918) as by Pan [hb/]
- The Great Image (London: Odhams Press, 1921) as by Pan [hb/]
- Mr Appleton Awakes (London: John Long, 1924) [hb/]
- Mr Appleton Awakes (London: Gramol Publications, 1932) [cut version of the above: in the Adelphi Novels series: pb/]
- The Venus Girl (London: John Long, 1924) [first appeared February-October 1923 Romance UK: hb/]
- The Venus Girl (London: Gramol Publications, 1933) [cut version of the above: in the Adelphi Novels series: pb/]
- The Flying Fish (London: The Amalgamated Press, 1931) [chap: appearing 11 May 1931 The Boys' Friend Library: occupying the whole of the issue and here treated as a separate book: pb/uncredited]
- The Invasion of The Iron-Clad Army: Gripping Yarn of War Thrills in 1962 (London: The Amalgamated Press, 1928) [chap: first appeared 11 March-27 May 1922 Champion as "The War of Revenge": in the publisher's Boys' Friend Library series: pb/uncredited]
- The Flying Fish (London: The Amalgamated Press, 1931) [chap: first appeared 20 April-29 June 1929 Gem: in the publisher's Boys' Friend Library series: pb/uncredited]
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