Updated 17 Dec 02001.
Fairly Big News! The Lion Tower, a discussion group about the Uncle books, is now live on yahoogroups.com. See below for how to join...
Huge News! The first two Uncle books have been reissued! See below for details...
Long ago, a small boy got some wonderful books from the local library. Peopled by strange characters like the benevolent elephant Uncle, his nemesis Beaver Hateman, Uncle's companion The Old Monkey, the skewer-throwing Hitmouse and the ingenious American Ira Smoothy, and set in twin strongholds, sumptuous Homeward and squalid Badfort, how could a little kid not be left with a sense of wonder?
Years passed, but the characters remained, reinforced by memories of Quentin Blake's great illustrations. The books are were long out of print, but I'm trying to compile some information to help people find them.
(From a posting by Jonathan Calder to uk.media.radio.archers on 15 October 2000.)J. P. Martin was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, and entered the Methodist ministry in 1902. For some years he was a missionary in South Africa, and he later served as a chaplain in Palestine in the First World War. Soon after the last war, he went into semi-retirement in the village of Timbercombe in Somerset, where he died in 1966.
Title and publishing details from COPAC.
If you can help add more information, please mail me. I wonder what made them disappear, after being popular enough to go to several printings?
Jonathan Cape Ltd still holds the rights to these books. If you would like to see the rest of the series republished, please write to:
Tom Maschler
Jonathan Cape Children's
Random House UK Limited
Random House
20 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London SW1V 2SA
Or contact them through their web site, www.randomhouse.co.uk
Good News! Tony Bannister may just have a ray of hope for us at his very graphical website: http://www.video-design.demon.co.uk/
Better News! A correspondent forwarded the following news from a Random House editor:
I am pleased to be able to tell you that we shall be reissuing UNCLE and UNCLE CLEANS UP in a paperback bindup this July called UNCLE STORIES. It will be priced £4.99 and will be available from most bookshops.
We would also like to reissue the other four stories at some point but this will depend on how well the first two are received later this year.
Best News! UNCLE STORIES is now available from Amazon.co.uk and other suppliers. Book details:
Uncle Stories
by J. P. Martin, illustrated by Quentin Blake
Published 27 July 2000 by Red Fox
ISBN: 0-09-941141-5
400 pages, paperback, £4.99
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