Gorse Trilogy
The Gorse Trilogy is a series of three novels, the last published works of the English author Patrick Hamilton.[1] It consists of:
- The West Pier (1952)
- Mr. Stimpson and Mr. Gorse (1953)
- Unknown Assailant (1955)
Each volume represents an episode in the career of the anti-hero Ernest Ralph Gorse, a skilled professional confidence man, whose heartlessness and lack of scruple are matched only by the inventiveness and panache with which he swindles his victims. Hamilton is thought to have been based him on the real-life con-man and murderer Neville George Heath, who was executed in 1946.[2]
Gorse insinuates himself into the lives of his victims with his good looks and easy confidence, and always with a good story. His victims are always women, and he flatters his way into their affections until he is in a position to turn things to his advantage. Graham Greene called The West Pier "the best book written about Brighton",[3] while L.P. Hartley said, "The entertainment value of this brilliantly told story could hardly be higher."[citation needed] Writing for The Independent, critic D. J. Taylor called Unknown Assailant "an inferior work" while The Guardian called it "drink-soaked."[1][3]
A loose adaptation of Mr Stimpson and Mr Gorse was produced by ITV in 1987, under the title The Charmer.[3] The changes were sufficient for the dramatist, Allan Prior, to issue a separarte novelisation of the TV series.
Gorse has a cameo as a secondary villain in Kim Newman's 2013 novel Johnny Alucard, par of his Anno Dracula series.
Further reading
[edit]- Jones, Nigel (1991) Through a Glass Darkly: The Life of Patrick Hamilton, Scribners
- French, Sean (1993) Patrick Hamilton: A Life, Faber and Faber
- Hamilton, Patrick (2007) The Gorse Trilogy, Black Spring Press.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Taylor, D. J. (17 August 1992), "Book Review: Gin in the afternoon: 'The Gorse Trilogy' - Patrick Hamilton: Penguin, 7.99 pounds", The Independent, retrieved 19 February 2013.
- ^ Thompson, Laura (20 April 2013), "Patrick Hamilton: A gifted, whisky-loving chronicler of low life", The Telegraph, retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ a b c Stevens, A. (16 April 2007), "Welcome back, Patrick Hamilton", The Guardian, retrieved 19 February 2013.