Verney, John
Entry updated 9 March 2026. Tagged: Author.
(1913-1993) UK illustrator and author, active in the former capacity after active service in World War Two, which he described in Going to the Wars (1955). He is of interest for recurring sf elements in the Callendars sequence of Young Adult tales beginning with Friday's Tunnel (1959); this first volume narrated by February, the oldest Callendar daughter, who helps uncover the true nature of caprium, seemingly a mysterious mineral found on the Island of Capria which is located somewhere in the Mediterranean and ruled on Ruritanian lines. Caprium turns out in fact to be a kind of Antimatter, a Power Source of almost illimitable potential; confused conflicts over its possession threaten to turn Cold War into World War Three. As usual with English thrillers of this era for young readers – earlier series by Enid Blyton and John Pudney are clear models for Callendars – little is made in the end of what turns out to be a McGuffin, though caprium returns in Seven Sunflower Seeds (1968), a tale also suffused with the actions of the eponymous loosely organized political movement introduced in ismo (1964). Founded by an Italian pop singer, and named after his aristo family motto "Integer Sturgo Meliore Omine" ("I Arise Afresh under a Better Omen"), ismo begins as a spoofish attempt led by the youth of Europe, conveyed with an element of mild Satire, to divert the course of history through absurdist humour; stealing every pair of pants that might fit General de Gaulle's hugely long legs in order to disrupt a triumphal parade climaxes the tale, whose plot, featuring dozens of characters in disguise and more McGuffins, is clearly meant in itself theatrically to embody the healing anarchy that ismo (unusually in its category) espouses. In Seven Sunflower Seeds adults have a corrupting effect on the movement. The final volume, Samson's Hoard (1973), cannot quite cope with the amiable transgressiveness that subcutaneously shapes the series as a whole. [JC]
Sir John Verney
born London: 30 September 1913
died Clare, Suffolk: 2 February 1993
works (selected)
Callendars
Callendars
- Friday's Tunnel (London: Collins, 1959) [Callendars: illus/hb/John Verney]
- February's Road (London: Collins, 1961) [Callendars: illus/hb/John Verney]
- ismo (London: Collins, 1964) [Callendars: illus/hb/John Verney]
- Seven Sunflower Seeds (London: Collins, 1968) [Callendars: hb/John Verney]
- Samson's Hoard (London: Collins, 1973) [Callendars: hb/John Verney]
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