Post by Bruce Partington-Plans on Sept 27, 2023 12:17:17 GMT
By chance I happened to stumble across this chap's work via eBay and as a fan of interwar "juvenile fiction" (Biggles, Enid Blyton etc.) I was instantly hooked. It can stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of W.E. Johns, Percy Westerman, George Rochester et al. and is wonderfully evocative of the period. Alfred Edgar sounds an interesting cove from what little information is available about him; it seems that in addition to this genre (some of which was also serialised in Boys' Own-style magazines at the time) he also wrote non-fiction books on things like the history of MG motor cars and the land speed record attempts of Campbell, Seagrave, Cobb etc., as well as being a playwright and later a Hollywood screenwriter under the pseudonym Barré Lyndon. One can clearly see coming through in his writing, which is tight and, well-rounded and chugs along nicely. Lots of "good chaps", "fine fellows", "lashings of ginger pop" and so on! I've read two of the four books that seem readily available - The Schoolboy Airmen and The Nine O'Clock Mail - and they are fine ripping yarns, despite the plot essentially being the same (two prep. school boys mad keen on aeroplanes/ trains/ cars/ cricket, whose school just happens to be next to an aerodrome/ railway station/ racing track/ cricket ground befriend adult(s) at said location, where some major disaster threatens which only they, through their pluck and daring, can avert.)
At only about 80 pages/ 8 chapters in length they make for light but perfectly enjoyable chappist reading and can easily be polished off in a couple of hours, or lingered over for a few days. Next up, The Abbeygate Cricket Cup!
At only about 80 pages/ 8 chapters in length they make for light but perfectly enjoyable chappist reading and can easily be polished off in a couple of hours, or lingered over for a few days. Next up, The Abbeygate Cricket Cup!