[gandalf2004]

Hi all

A friend on another thread asked who Basil Copper was. I admit to not having read much of his work outside The Great White Space - a good Cthulhu Mythos novella - and some of his short stories from The Pan Book Of Horror Stories, which were also good. These included the stories Camera Obscura (volume 6), The Janissaries of Emilion (volume 8) and The Spider (volume 5) - see The Pan Book Of Horror Stories Index Of Contributing Authors (http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/horror_pan_index.html)

I'm going to try to come up with some information to help everyone out. I'll be focussing here on his horror/macabre/supernatural work rather than the detective stories, though information on those isn't too hard to find.

Basil Copper

http://img73.echo.cx/img73/9103/basilcopper9zu.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0007SAZH8/qid=1114961155/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-2617996-9241642?v=glance&s=books)

"Basil Copper is one of Britain's leading gothic autors, but he also penned some 52 'hard-boiled' detective thrillers, as well as 25 'Sherlock Holmes' pastiches featuring the character, Solar Pons, a character created by August Derleth. Copper has received many honours in recent years. In 1979, the Mark Twain Society of America elected him a Knight of Mark Twain for his outstanding "contribution to modern fiction", while the Praed Street Irregulars have twice honoured him for his work on the 'Solar Pons' series. He has been a member of the Crime Writer's Association for over thirty years, serving as chairman in 1981/82 and on its committee for a total of seven years.

Copper's first book, The Dark Mirror (1966), launched his very popular and long-running series of hard-boiled thrillers starring Mike Faraday. These appeared at the rate of two or more books a year until the series ended in 1988."

from Basil Copper bio (http://www.xs4all.nl/~embden11/Engels/copper.htm)

The Great White Space 1975

http://img73.echo.cx/img73/6622/thegreatwhitespace7yc.jpg

I only recall this very loosely, but it was something about an ancient city under the ground. An expedition is sent to explore it, and the narrator reveals what they find. They cross a lake in a boat and reach a white light. Someone goes into the light and re-emerges possessed by a monstrous entity from a higher dimension of existence.

Does anyone else remember this story?

"This is an excellent, dread-filled horror adventure story. It blends Lovecraft and Jules Verne with the adventerous spirit of Conan Doyle's Challenger stories."

from Amazon.com review (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0532124006/qid=1114959041/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-2617996-9241642?v=glance&s=books)

"As Basil Copper postulated it, there's no explicit link between the Great White Space and gate travel.. At some spot in the world, there's a hidden opening to a sacred band of cosmos, which is used by the Great Old Ones and their minions to travel between the worlds. Whether this is the space through which gates or channeled, or something else entirely, is something which is never really explained."

from Gates and FTL Travel - a Cthulhu Mythos discussion (http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/leiber/50/dggates.htm#gws)

The Chronology of the Cthulhu Mythos (http://www.epberglund.com/RGttCM/chrono04.htm)

"Unknown author. The Ethics of Ygor. Unknown date, Latin, multi-volumed, occult cosmology. Possibly a non-human text originally."

from Occult Bibliography and links (http://freespace.virgin.net/j.shire/libraryofthesphinx/occultbibliography.htm)

Camera Obscura

"You're wrong, Mr. Sharsted. You're in your element – with your colleagues and your peers, damned and doomed for eternity of the leech. Oh, no, Mr. Sharsted, too late for reprieve. Now you shall stumble and weep and swear along the alleys and squares of your own private hell - and you shall do so for all eternity."

A heartless moneylender gets his just desserts with the help of a client's unusual telescopic device.

This story was once filmed for the Rod Serling series Night Gallery. It stars Ross Martin and Rene Auberjonois, better known as Odo from Deep Space Nine.

Arguably Copper's most well-known story.

Tv Tome - Night Gallery entry (http://www.tvtome.com/NightGallery/index.html) provides loads on useful info on the classic Rod Serling series.

Websites

Barbelith Undergound - Cthulhu Mythos discussion (http://www.barbelith.com/topic/2870) mentions The Great White Space, though it does not consider it strictly part of the Mythos.

General

Bibliography (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Basil_Copper.htm)

Basil Copper has written many novels outside of the horror genre, so scroll down to find his work in the field of the macabre.

Further Reading

http://img108.echo.cx/img108/5382/houseofthewolf5yb.jpg

And Afterward, The Dark (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0870540955/qid=1114961155/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-2617996-9241642?v=glance&s=books)

The Vampire in Legend, Fact and Art (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0552098027/qid=1114961317/sr=1-15/ref=sr_1_15/002-2617996-9241642?v=glance&s=books)

The Werewolf in Legend, Fact and Art (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0312862229/qid=1114961317/sr=1-13/ref=sr_1_13/002-2617996-9241642?v=glance&s=books)

Here be Demons: Tales of Horror and the Uneasy (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0722124996/qid=1114960807/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_8_4/202-7388925-9510219)

Not After Nightfall: Stories of the Strange and Terrible (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000CNI7O/qid=1114960807/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_8_5/202-7388925-9510219)

Cold Hand On My Shoulder: Tales Of Terror And Suspense (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1902309200/qid=1114960807/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_8_6/202-7388925-9510219)

Whispers In The Night by Basil Copper (http://shop.store.yahoo.com/shocklines/whisinnigbyb.html)

When Footsteps Echo: Tales of Terror and the Unknown (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0552098027/qid=1114961317/sr=1-15/ref=sr_1_15/002-2617996-9241642?v=glance&s=books)

The House Of The Wolf (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0870540955/qid=1114961155/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-2617996-9241642?v=glance&s=books)

A list of novels by Copper (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/6181/002-2617996-9241642)

Further books to read (http://www.scifan.com/writers/cc/CopperBasil.asp)

Yours

Gandalf

[Shayna]

Gandalf..I must say --- "BRAVO"!!! :)

Very well done!! I must say you gave me alot to look at and delve into. This information is much more than I could have looked up on my own!!(I tried-but did not find much.)

I believe that the administrators will thank you for doing such a fine job on such a topic!!

I may not be able to find the books, but another level...I will have such fun looking at all you gave here!! ( *Tongue is lolling and tail is wagging!!!) :D

Thanx again, Shayna ;)

[gandalf2004]

Hi Shayna!

My pleasure. :)

I hope that Charles Dickens turns out to be even more fun. :cool:

Doing this has re-ignited my interest in the Cthulhu Mythos. I may do some more on that at some point soon.

Yours

Gandalf

[raggedyman]

I read "The Great White Space" 30 years ago. I still have the old Manor Books paperback. He didicates the book to H. P. Lovecraft and August Derleth. I remember it as a very fun read.