Forrest Reid (1875-1947), the Ulster novelist, spent his life in Belfast, in the north of Ireland, save for a period as an undergraduate at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he received a B.A. in 1908. He numbered among his many friends and acquaintances George William Russell (A. E.), E. M. Forster, Edmund Gosse, C. S. Lewis, and Walter de le Mare, as well as various Uranians such as Theo Bartholomew, Osbert Burdett, and Mark Andre Raffalovich.

Despite his sixteen novels, his two autobiographies, and a range of other works, despite being a founding member of the Irish Academy of Letters and an honorary Doctor of Letters of Queen's University in Belfast, despite his novel "Young Tom" being awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Forrest Reid closely borders both oblivion and canonicity. However, this author, who has been aptly dubbed the "Arch-Priest of a Minor Cult," deserves reconsideration and perhaps a place in the pantheon of English letters.

"The Tom Barber Trilogy" - composed of the very distinct novels "Uncle Stephen" (1931), "The Retreat; or, The Machinations of Henry" (1936), and "Young Tom; or, Very Mixed Company" (1944) - is Forrest Reid's magnum opus. The present scholarly edition presents those three novels as clean texts (in Volume I), followed by a study of Forrest Reid and explanatory notes for the trilogy (in Volume II).

'A masterpiece.' - E. M. Forster
' A] strange, sinister, and unforgettable story.' - "Manchester Guardian"
'Forrest Reid has . . . beautiful, rhythmical prose, a true and permanent voice.' - John McGahern
'None of our contemporaries can describe childhood and youth as truly as he does.' - V. S. Pritchett
When "Following Darkness" first appeared in 1912, critics did not know what to make of it. Sentimental novels of childhood and adolescence were popular in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, but here was something completely new in English fiction, a book that explored a teenager's thoughts and emotions with unflinching honesty. One leading critic denounced the novel's protagonist Peter Waring as a 'subject for the pathologist rather than the novelist, ' an 'evil' character who 'unutterably disgusts', and the book's allusions to Peter's sexual awakening and his rejection of Christ disturbed contemporary readers.
"Following Darkness" is the story of sixteen-year-old Peter's conflict with his staunchly religious father, whose religion and values Peter rejects with contempt, his burgeoning friendship with Owen Gill, and his growing passion for Katherine Dale. With keen psychological insight, Reid creates in Peter a complex and fascinating character: morally ambiguous, deeply flawed, snobbish, conceited and selfish, yet ultimately sympathetic. Acclaimed as a masterpiece by E.M. Forster and a possible influence on Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" (1916), Following Darkness was unlike any novel that had preceded it, and it remains one of Forrest Reid's most interesting works. This first-ever republication of the novel includes a new introduction by Andrew Doyle.

" A] very unusual story ...] an interest develops strongly, it increases, and we move on to a climax that is full of excitement. Nothing save the book itself can indicate its peculiar atmosphere and its real merit." - "Daily Telegraph"
"A very exquisite book, written with rare charm and great art." - "Manchester Guardian"
"A book of distinction and charm." - "New York Times"
"There are few contemporary stories of childhood reaching the artistic height of "The Spring Song."" - "Springfield Republican"
Thirteen-year-old Grif Weston and his siblings, Barbara, Ann, Jim, Edward, and Edward's friend Palmer Dorset, travel to their grandfather's home in rural Ireland, where they hope to pass an eventful summer. Unexpected dangers and adventures lurk, as the children must solve the kidnapping of their beloved dog Pouncer and thwart a burglary attempt on Grandpapa's house. Yet there is another danger, far more sinister, involving Billy Tremaine, a local boy who died at age fourteen in a tragedy no one wants to talk about.
When Grif hears a mysterious figure singing an old tune called "The Spring Song," old Mr. Bradley tells him that it's Billy's ghost, trying to lure Grif into joining him in the world of the dead; shortly afterwards Grif falls ill with an inexplicable sickness. But Palmer Dorset, an avid reader of Sherlock Holmes tales, is determined to solve these mysteries, and he'll risk every danger to find the truth behind Mr. Bradley's ghastly stories and Grif's unexplainable illness. . . .
Forrest Reid (1875-1947) is unequaled among English-language writers in his novels of boyhood and adolescence. In "The Spring Song" (1916), he weaves a classic boys' adventure tale with a chilling ghost story in the vein of Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw." This edition, the first since the novel's original publication, is newly typeset from the original edition and features a new introduction by Mark Valentine.

"An admirable novel... the author has drawn this charming unearthly boy with extraordinary sympathy and penetration." - "Manchester Guardian"
"A work of rare distinction. . . . more than brilliant; it is actual; it is true; it is an accurate reproduction of an experience." - "Daily News"
"A remarkable novel . . . it is as fine a piece of work as we have come upon for a long time." - "Daily Chronicle"
At the end of his life, Forrest Reid (1875-1947) extensively revised his novel "The Bracknels" (1911), which had been acclaimed by critics and whose admirers included E.M. Forster and D.H. Lawrence; the result was the posthumously published "Denis Bracknel" (1947), and it remains one of his finest achievements. A story in the tradition of Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw" and with a slow-building dread reminiscent of the works of Sheridan Le Fanu, Reid's novel opens with the arrival of young tutor Hubert Rusk, just down from Oxford, at the home of the well-to-do Bracknel family. Though the entire family is odd, none of them is stranger than Rusk's pupil, fifteen-year-old Denis, a highly imaginative, unworldly boy who is attuned to the occult and performs bizarre rituals by moonlight. As Rusk befriends Denis and gains his trust, he gradually learns the startling and horrific truth behind the boy's behaviour and will have to struggle to save him from a terrible fate... This new edition is the first-ever republication of Reid's final novel and features a new introduction by Andrew Doyle and rare and previously unpublished archival materials, including photographs and letters.

"A study of poignant beauty and truth, written in a prose so exquisite that one almost forgets the story in the reading of it." - "Glasgow Herald"
"This work is throughout light, clear, delicate, and actual; his prose remains as lucid and fluid as ever ... delightful and humorous." - "The Times"
" A] great work of art ... will take its place in the literature of our time." - "Northern Whig"
"A fascinating little story ... beautifully done." - "Sunday Times"
"This book is clear, humorous, delicate; and it is fresh ... his fluid, simple and sometimes lovely prose carries the reader without a jolt." - "Times Literary Supplement"
" F]lawless ... a gracious and memorable book." - "Glasgow News"
"Mr. Reid is a master of dialogue, and his prose is a delight ... a fascinating novel." - "Birmingham Post"
A chance meeting in 1931 between fifty-six-year-old Forrest Reid and nineteen-year-old Stephen Gilbert was a pivotal event in the lives of both men. For Reid, it was love at first sight, and his young muse was the inspiration for a string of late-career literary triumphs that culminated in the James Tait Black Prize for Young Tom as the best novel of 1944. For Gilbert, his friendship with Reid helped launch his own writing career, which saw him publish five excellent, though now neglected, novels between 1943 and 1968. In "Brian Westby" (1934), arguably his masterpiece, Reid immortalized their meeting, recasting their relationship as father and son. In "Brian Westby," Martin Linton, an ageing novelist wondering whether he has anything left to live for, travels to the Irish seaside for his health. There, he meets Brian, the teenage son he never knew he had, and finds his passion for life reawakened as he tries to win the boy's confidence and affection. But their burgeoning relationship is threatened by Linton's ex-wife Stella, who believes him to be an immoral influence, and in an unforgettable climax Brian will be forced to choose between his love for his newfound father and his loyalty to the only parent he has ever known. This first-ever republication of Reid's scarce novel includes an introduction by Andrew Doyle, an appendix containing unpublished texts by Reid and Gilbert, and a reproduction of the original jacket art.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!