Gerhardi, William
Entry updated 28 October 2024. Tagged: Author.
(1895-1977) Russian-born author of English parents, in the UK from before World War One; in active service during that conflict, mostly in Russia; in later, inactive years he gave his name as Gerhardie, apparently in homage to an earlier and more prestigious spelling. He is best known for works outside the sf field like Futility (1922) and The Polyglots (1925). His End-of-the-World novel Jazz and Jasper: The Story of Adams and Eva (1928; vt Eva's Apples: A Story of Jazz and Jasper 1928; vt My Sinful Earth 1947; vt Doom 1974), a fantasticated Scientific Romance, depicts a Lord Beaverbrook figure and his entourage in their complex lives, as well as George Bernard Shaw and H G Wells in the flesh; later, after a huge cataclysm, the relics of the cast hurtle through space on a chip of rock which is all that remains of Earth, but with some hope, Satirically described, in store (see Adam and Eve). The Memoirs of Satan (1932) with Brian Lunn (1893-1956), Hugh Kingsmill's brother, is fantasy; as is Resurrection (1934), whose protagonist undergoes a Precognitive experience. [JC]
William Alexander Gerhardi
born St Petersburg, Russia: 21 November 1895
died London: 15 July 1977
works
- Jazz and Jasper: The Story of Adams and Eva (London: Duckworth, 1928) [hb/]
- Eva's Apples: A Story of Jazz and Jasper (New York: Duffield and Company, 1928) [vt of the above: hb/]
- My Sinful Earth (London: Macdonald, 1947) [vt of the above: hb/]
- Doom (London: Macdonald, 1974) as William Gerhardie [vt of the above: hb/]
- The Memoirs of Satan (London: Cassell and Company, 1932) with Brian Lunn [hb/]
- Resurrection (London: Cassell and Company, 1934) [hb/]
links
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