Back to entry: hillgarth_alan | Show links black

Hillgarth, Alan

(1899-1978) UK soldier, intelligence officer – rising in that capacity to Chief of British Naval Intelligence, Eastern Theatre – and author, whose fifth novel, The Black Mountain (1933), is a Near Future tale of revolution and politics in Bolivia, with a Lost Race element conveyed through the charismatic young protagonist's mysterious teacher, perhaps a Secret Master representing the long-hidden line of true Indian civilization in South America. The Black Mountain seems to have derived in part from Hillgarth's experiences with the Sacambaya Exploration Company, whose expedition to Bolivia to heist buried treasure turned out to be a scam. [JC]

Captain Alan Hugh Hillgarth

born London: 7 June 1899

died Ballinderry, Tipperary, Ireland: 28 February 1978

works

• The Black Mountain (London: Nicholson and Watson, 1933) [hb/Nina Miller Davidson]

links

• Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 03:02 am on 12 May 2026.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/hillgarth_alan>