Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Six Queer Things by Christopher St. John Sprigg Christopher Caudwell. Christopher Caudwell is the pseudonym of Christopher St. John Sprigg a British Marxist writer, thinker and poet. He was born into a Roman Catholic family, resident at 53 Montserrat Road, Putney. He was educated at the Benedictine Ealing Priory School, but left school at the age of 15 after his father, Stanhope Sprigg, lost his job as literary editor of the Daily Express. Caudwell moved with his father to Bradford and began work as a reporter for the Yorkshire Observer. He made his way to Marxism and set about rethinking everything in light of it, from poetry to philosophy to physics, later joining the Communist Party of Great Britain in Poplar, London. In December 1936 he drove an ambulance to Spain and joined the International Brigades there, training as a machine-gunner at Albacete before becoming a machine-gun instructor and group political delegate. He edited a wall newspaper. He was killed in action on 12 February 1937, the first day of the Battle of the Jarama Valley. His brother, Theodore, had attempted to have Caudwell recalled by the Communist Party of Great Britain by showing its General Secretary, Harry Pollitt, the proofs of Caudwell's book Illusion and Reality. Caudwell's Marxist works were published posthumously. The first was Illusion and Reality (1937), an analysis of poetry. Caudwell published widely, writing criticism, poetry, short stories and novels. Much of his work was published posthumously. Christopher St John Sprigg - Author. Death of an Airman is an enjoyable and unorthodox whodunit from a writer whose short life was as remarkable as that of any of his fictional creations. When an aeroplane crashes, and its pilot is killed, Edwin Marriott, the Bishop of Cootamundra in Australia, is on hand. In England on leave, the Bishop has decided to learn how to fly, but he is not convinced that the pilot's death was accidental. In due course, naturally, he is proved right. The Bishop and Inspector Bray of Scotland Yard make an appealing pair of detectives, and ultimately a cunning criminal scheme is uncovered. The Study Lamp. Sprigg's final mystery novel, published after his death during the Spanish Civil War, is darker in tone than the previous mysteries I've read of his although there are similarities between them. Like The Corpse with the Sunburned Face, The Six Queer Things has a hybrid quality to it but whereas TCWTSF moves from mystery to an African adventure thriller, TSQT takes the reverse route and uses an occult thriller beginning to set up the mystery elements. The central figure in The Six Queer Things is Marjorie Easton, one of those improbably naive women found in detective fiction. Working at an ill- paying job and living with her miserly uncle, Marjorie is desperate to change her situation and a job offer from the strange Michael Crispin and his sister gives Marjorie that opportunity although not without a feeling of unease. Although the job promises to be remunerative, Marjorie has no idea what it entails other than the vague description of "research" and that it requires Marjorie to move in with the Crispins. On her first day of work, Marjorie is surprised to learn that Michaels' research is simply a euphemism for spiritualism. Crispin regularly holds seances at which he is the medium and at first Marjorie is simply required to record what happens at these seances but eventually she is encouraged to develop her own psychic gifts. Developing those gifts comes at a cost. She becomes more isolated, experiences terrible nightmares and is soon on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Marjorie's physician then enlists the help of her estranged boyfriend Ted to infiltrate the seances and to discover why Michael brought Marjorie to the Crispin house in the first place. This proves to be much more riskier than Ted foresaw, especially when a poisoning occurs at one of the seances and Ted is accused of being the culprit. Enter Detective-Inspector Charles Morgan. Usually not an imaginative detective, he is given the task not only of discovering the poisoner and how the poison was administered but also the significance of the "six queer things" found in a locked drawer in the Crispin residence (some of which are obvious to the reader). While at this point the book has moved from the occult set-up to the mystery storyline, the novel changes direction again, adding scenes of gothic romance and a criminal conspiracy storyline. I was a bit disappointed when the mystery investigation gave way to these elements and the shift in focus rendered The Six Queer Things not entirely satisfying (although the shift wasn't as abrupt as the switch from England to Africa in TCWTSF ). Although I've seen the novel described as humourless as compared to Sprigg's previous work, there still is some humour to be occasionally found in the novel (although sparingly and sometimes very black). As well there were some plot and character similarities to his earlier work (specifically Pass the Body ). However, the mystery still manages a few surprises. Overall, I would rate The Six Queer Things more highly than The Corpse with the Sunburned Face and Death of an Airman , but my favourite Sprigg still remains Pass the Body (with the delightful Charles Venables). Unfortunately, like much of Sprigg's output, The Six Queer Things is quite pricey on the used market. 4 comments: Interesting post, Darrell, about an author with whom I'm completely unfamiliar! Unfortunately, as you say, ALL of Sprigg's books appear to be (a) out of print and (b) VERY pricey. Sigh - wouldn't it be great if these were made available by one of the POD publishers. or scanned in as e- books? Thanks for informing me about an author i knew nothing about. maybe I will find some of his works in a used book bin someday, or perhaps, as Les said, he will be republished. The Six Queer Things (Valancourt 20th Century Classics) Desperate to escape living with her miserly uncle, Marjorie Easton eagerly accepts a job offer from the strange Michael Crispin despite knowing nothing of the employment except that it is well-paid and includes some kind of research. Much to her surprise, the "research" involves séances and requires Marjorie to develop her own psychic gifts to assist in communing with the dead. Soon she begins to suffer from terrible nightmares and seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but the real terror begins when Crispin dies under mysterious circumstances during one of the séances. Who is …mehr. Christopher Caudwell. Christopher Caudwell (1907-1937). Courtesy Wikipedia . Christopher Caudwell was the pseudonym of Christopher St. John Sprigg (20 October 1907 - 12 February 1937), an English poet and mystery writer, and a Marxist writer and thinker. Contents. Life [ edit | edit source ] Caudwell was born into a Catholic family living at 53 Montserrat Road, Putney district, south-west London. Educated at the Benedictine Ealing Priory School, Caudwell's formal education ended at the age of 15 when his father, Stanhope Sprigg, lost his job as literary editor of the Daily Express . Caudwell moved with his father to Bradford and began work as a journalist for the Yorkshire Observer . He found his own way to Marxism and set about rethinking everything in light of it, from poetry to philosophy to physics. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in Poplar in the East End of London. In December 1936 he drove an ambulance to Spain and joined the International Brigades once there, training as a machine-gunner at Albacete before becoming a machine-gun instructor and group political delegate. He also edited a wall newspaper. Caudwell was killed in action on 12 February 1937 during the 1st day of the battle of the Jarama Valley. His brother Theodore had attempted to have Caudwell recalled by the Communist Party of Great Britain by showing General-Secretary Harry Pollitt the proofs of Illusion and Reality . However, despite the myth that a recall telegram was sent but arrived after Caudwell's death, no telegram or other recall instruction was ever sent, which was an enduring source of bitterness for Theo. His Marxist works were published posthumously. The first was Illusion and Reality (1937), an analysis of poetry. Publications [ edit | edit source ] as Christopher Caudwell [ edit | edit source ] Poetry [ edit | edit source ] Poems. London: John Lane, Bodley Head, 1939; Lawrence & Wishart, 1965 Collected Poems (edited with an introduction by Alan Young), Manchester: Carcanet Press, 1986. Novel [ edit | edit source ] This My Hand . London: Hamish Hamilton, 1936. Non-fiction [ edit | edit source ] Illusion and Reality . London: Macmillan, 1937; (with biographical note by George Thomson). Berlin: Seven Seas; New York: International Publishers; London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1973. as Christopher St. John Sprigg [ edit | edit source ] Poetry [ edit | edit source ] 'Once I did think' (The ecstasy). The Dial LXXXII, (March 1927) Novels [ edit | edit source ] Crime in Kensington . London: Eldon Press, 1933. published in U.S. as Pass the Body . New York: Dial Press, 1933. Non-fiction [ edit | edit source ] The Airship: Its Design, History, Operation and Future . London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co, 1931. Fly with Me: An Elementary Textbook on the Art of Piloting (with Henry Davis). London: John Hamilton, 1932. British Airways . London: Thomas Nelson, 1934. Great Flights . London: Thomas Nelson, 1935. Let's Learn to Fly . London: Thomas Nelson, 1937. Edited [ edit | edit source ] Uncanny Stories . London: Thomas Nelson, 1936. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy Dublin City University . [1]