The Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society discussion

It's been quite some time since I read any books by Colin MacInnes, however I have very fond memories of his trilogy...

City of Spades, 1957
Absolute Beginners, 1959
Mr Love And Justice, 1960







From Wikipedia:

MacInnes was born in London, the son of singer James Campbell McInnes and novelist Angela Thirkell, who was the granddaughter of the Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones and also related to Rudyard Kipling and Stanley Baldwin. His family moved to Australia in 1920, MacInness returning in 1930. For much of his childhood, he was known as Colin Thirkell, the surname of his mother's second husband; later he used his father's name McInnes, afterwards changing to MacInnes.
He worked in Brussels from 1930 to 1935, then studied painting in London at the London Polytechnic and the School of Drawing and Painting in Euston Road. Towards the end of his life, he stayed at the home of Martin Green, his publisher,& Martin's wife, Fiona in Fitzrovia,where he spent time, regarding their small family as his own adoptive one until his death. (Inside Outsider by Tony Gould published by Alison & Busby,1983)

He served in the British intelligence corps during World War II, and worked in occupied Germany after VE Day. This led to his first novel, To the Victors the Spoils. Following his return to England, he worked for BBC Radio until he could earn a living from his writing.

He was the author of a number of books depicting London youth and black immigrant culture during the 1950s, in particular City of Spades (1957), Absolute Beginners (1959) and Mr Love & Justice (1960), collectively known as the "London trilogy". Many of his books were set in the Notting Hill area of London, then a poor and racially mixed area, home to many new immigrants and which suffered race riots in 1958. Openly bisexual, he wrote on subjects such as urban squalor, racial issues, bisexuality, drugs, anarchy, and "decadence."
Mr Love & Justice follows two characters, Frank Love and Edward Justice, in late '50s London. Mr. Love is a novice ponce (pimp); Mr. Justice is a cop newly transferred to the plain-clothes division of the Vice Squad. Gradually their lives intermesh. The title of the novel was used for a 2008 album, Mr. Love & Justice, by Billy Bragg. Bragg's previous album England, Half English was also named after a MacInnes book.

I'm not claiming for one moment that Macinnes is in the same league as Patrick Hamilton, however I remember being very impressed by his evocation of West London and the quality of his writing and story telling.

I have read Absolute Beginners and it does evoke the time, place and culture, but, like you, I would not put him in the same league as Hamilton (or Selvon).

I read all the Colin McInnes books I could get my hands on a long time ago, and loved them. I seem to remember they were very funny too.

Fionaonaona wrote: "I read all the Colin McInnes books I could get my hands on a long time ago, and loved them. I seem to remember they were very funny too."



That's interesting. I don't remember much humour. I re-purchased them a few months back (I don't tend to keep books) and have it in mind to revisit them.

I got them all in one omnibus edition The Colin Mac Innes Omnibus: City Of Spades, Absolute Beginners, Mr Love And Justice (see photo above).

I'm on the Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes podcast from the Backlisted back catalogue. I've not read Absolute Beginners for many moons despite it remaining a firm favourite. This discussion makes me keen to put that right in the near future.

#somanybookssolittletime

^ Another thread to bump as Susan plans to read 'Absolute Beginners' by Colin MacInnes at some point.

I'll add a few comments too when I get round to rereading it