Talk:Anthony West (author)

Unlisted Book, or A Possible Error

I'm holding a copy of "The Crusades" by Antony West, copyright 1954, with illustrations by Carl Rose.

There is an entry for a 1967 book that is similar to this (similar title, same illustrator), so I am not sure if these are the same book or not.--Acewolf359 16:21, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

West's "Heritage" 1955

This phrase:

“…he later famously fell out with his mother over publishing the book about his father”

is a classic piece of ambiguity, and it could find a place in any textbook on them. Firstly, as BOTH mother and son were well-established authors and both wrote about H. G. Wells in one form or another, how do we know whether the fall out was due to a “book about his father” that HE published, or SHE published? Either variation is equally possible on this reading. The historical truth is that it was something published by the son which led to his estrangement from his mother. This ambiguity is compounded by a second one: Antony West "published" not one, but TWO books which relate to his father.

The first was a fictional roman a clef named Heritage, which he published (Random House) in 1955, and which dealt with the childhood of a boy who is brought up by two world-famous parents who largely ignore and neglect him. In other words, it was his story, and in it, his mother comes off far worse than his father, who he idolized. Strangely enough, Heritage does NOT appear in the bibliography at the end of the article except as his very last book, dated 1984. There is no explanation for that in this article, but as the article on his mother Rebecca West amply details, she sued and the book was banned in Britain for decades. Even so, it was NOT banned in the U.S.A. and it is odd that all details of the original publication have been deleted here. After she died in March 1983, Secker and Warburg published it in Britain the following month, with a new and extensive introduction by Antony West. BOTH the 1955 and the 1984 editions should be listed there, and the article should makes some mention of the matters adumbrated above. http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/09/10/specials/west-newlife.html

The second book that Antony West "published" on matters related to his parentage, was the non-fictional biography of his father "H.G. Wells: Aspects of a Life", in 1984, which I have just read. In it, he makes extensive criticisms of some of his mother's remarks to American journalists on his father, and attempts to show them up as untrue. This book would have been published about a year after she died. In it, he also notes that there are personal papers of hers held by trustees, which bear significantly on these matters, and which will not be released "for a long time". Considering that he wrote this in 1984, now 27 ago, I wonder if any of this material has come into the public domain. Anyone know?

Lastly, West's biography of his father, mentioned above, arguably his most well-known work, is overlooked in the text and accorded a solitary reference in the Bibliography. It deserves better. I will give a week for anyone who wishes to contribute to this talk page on this business, and then will incorporate the substance of these criticisms into the article, unless someone does it first.

Oh, one of my pet peeves is the habit some posters have of declaring that someone had "published" something, when they mean "written". It is quite possible to "publish" things one has not written. Penguin and Random House, amongst others, do it all the time. "Written" ("and subsequently had published" understood) will do nicely. Myles325a (talk) 06:39, 16 January 2011 (UTC)

Amendments made by me so far

I have incorporated a mention of West's 1955 edition of "The Heritage" in the article, as an explanation of the rift with his mother. A template citing the article for insufficient references appeared, and accordingly I have linked that material to the article on his mother, which has a section on her relationship with her son, and which is about as long as the entire A. West article.

I am trying to make a link that pipes directly from the A. West article to the specific par in the R. West article, but this non-techie is still trying to work that out. There is a link too with the new issue (c. 1984) of "The Heritage" and it explains how and why that novel was brought out, but it is blocked here. If I can't unblock it, I will copy the relevant text over, and make it into a reference.

Please be patient with me. Techie stuff is not my best suit, but I am learning. Myles325a (talk) 05:19, 16 February 2011 (UTC)