Worts, George F
Entry updated 1 December 2024. Tagged: Author.
(1892-1967) US author who also wrote as by Loring Brent, not always restricting his use of this name to magazine publications. The Peter the Brazen sequence, whose protagonist boasts uncanny hearing and other Superpower-like abilities, is set primarily in the Far East, where Yellow Peril menaces are routinely dealt with by the Hero. The series appeared initially in Argosy between 1918-1934; the first six (all from 1918) were spliced together as Peter the Brazen: A Mystery Story of Modern China (fixup 1919); much later, the first three were assembled as The City of Stolen Lives: The Adventures of Peter the Brazen (coll 2016), volume one of a planned publication of the entire series.
The Return of George Washington (15 October-19 November 1927 Argosy All-Story; 1927; vt No More a Corpse: An Astounding Story 1932) is told almost until its conclusion in sf terms, with the first president being Reincarnated at the hands of a Mad Scientist; but it turns out to be a hoax. The Phantom President (1932), a musical directed by Norman Taurog, seems to have been based on a possibly unpublished novel/novelization by Worts: an impostor, substituting for a fatally dull candidate for office, threatens half-unwittingly to take over for real. Robert A Heinlein's Double Star (1956), whether or not inspired by this film, can be seen to massively sophisticate its implications. The Monster of the Lagoon (23 January-30 March 1935 Argosy; 1947 chap; exp as coll 1991) is a Horror in SF tale featuring the adventures of Singapore Sammy, whose further appearances have not reached book form. [JC]
George Frank Worts
born Toledo, Ohio: 16 March 1892
died Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii: 25 February 1967
works
series
Peter the Brazen
- Peter the Brazen: A Mystery Story of Modern China (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J B Lippincott Company, 1919) [fixup: first appeared 1918 Argosy: published as by Loring Brent: Peter the Brazen: illus/hb/Gayle Hoskins]
- The City of Stolen Lives: The Adventures of Peter the Brazen (Altus Press, 2016) as by Loring Brent [coll of linked stories: first appeared 1918 Argosy: Peter the Brazen: pb/]
- The Golden Cat (Normal, Illinois: Black Dog Books, 2018) as by Loring Brent [coll of linked stories: first appeared 1919 Argosy: Peter the Brazen: pb/]
individual titles
- The Return of George Washington (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1927) as by Loring Brent [first appeared 15 October-19 November 1927 Argosy All-Story: hb/]
- No More a Corpse: An Astounding Story (New York: Alfred H King, Incorporated, 1932) as by Loring Brent [vt of the above: hb/]
- The Monster of the Lagoon (Toronto, Ontario: Popular Publications, 1947) [chap: first appeared 23 January-30 March 1935 Argosy: pb/]
- The Monster of the Lagoon (Mercer Island, Washington: Starmont House, 1991) [exp as coll: containing the above plus other work: pb/]
links
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