Samuel Youd

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Samuel Youd (born April 16, 1922 (1922-04-16) (age 86)) is a British science fiction author. He has written under the pseudonyms John Christopher, Stanley Winchester, Hilary Ford, William Godfrey, Peter Graaf, Peter Nichols, and Anthony Rye.

He is best known for The Tripods trilogy, published under the pseudonym John Christopher.

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[edit] Biography

Youd was born in Lancashire, and educated at Peter Symonds' School in Winchester, Hampshire (now Peter Symonds College).

He did his war service in the Royal Corps of Signals between 1941 and 1946. A scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation made it possible for him to pursue his writing career, beginning with The Winter Swan. His novels were popular during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably The Death Of Grass. In recent years his novels appear to have fallen out of favour and now few remain in print, although they are still valued by collectors and fans of the genre. There was a brief revival in the 1980s after British television dramatised The Tripods

Many of his science fiction novels follow the ruined earth pattern also followed by authors John Wyndham or H. G. Wells. In these novels everyday characters are placed into a setting in which they experience a major disaster which has severe implications for society and the world. Thus, he explores how characters and society cope with such changes.

In 1966 he started writing science-fiction for adolescents. The Tripods trilogy, the Prince in Waiting trilogy (also known as the Sword of the Spirits trilogy) and The Lotus Caves are still widely read today.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Books

(as John Christopher unless noted)

  • The Winter Swan (1949, as Christopher Youd)
  • Babel Itself (1951, as Samuel Youd)
  • Brave Conquerors (1952, as Samuel Youd)
  • Crown and Anchor (1953, as Samuel Youd)
  • A Palace of Strangers (1954, as Samuel Youd)
  • The Twenty-Second Century (1954)
  • Holly Ash (US title The Opportunist, 1955, as Samuel Youd)
  • The Year Of The Comet (US title Planet In Peril, 1955)
  • The Death Of Grass (US title No Blade Of Grass, 1957)
  • Giant's Arrow (1956) (as Anthony Rye and in US as Samuel Youd)
  • Malleson at Melbourne (1956, as William Godfrey)
  • Dust and the Curious Boy (US title: Give the Devil His Due, 1957, as Peter Graaf) - Volume 1 in the Joe Dust series
  • The Friendly Game (1957, as William Godfrey)
  • The Caves Of Night (1958)
  • Daughter Fair (1958, as Peter Graaf) - Volume 2 in the Joe Dust series
  • Felix Walking (1958, as Hilary Ford)
  • Felix Running (1959, as Hilary Ford)
  • The Sapphire Conference (1959, as Peter Graaf) - Volume 3 in the Joe Dust series
  • A Scent of White Poppies (1959)
  • The Long Voyage (US title The White Voyage, 1960)
  • The Choice (UK title The Burning Bird, 1961, as Samuel Youd)
  • Messages of Love (1961, as Samuel Youd)
  • The Gull's Kiss (1962, as Peter Graaf)
  • The World In Winter (US title The Long Winter, 1962)
  • The Summers at Accorn (1963, as Samuel Youd)
  • Cloud On Silver (US title Sweeney's Island, 1964)
  • The Possessors (1964)
  • Bella on the Roof (1965, as Hilary Ford)
  • Patchwork of Death (1965, as Peter Nichols)
  • A Wrinkle In The Skin (US title The Ragged Edge, 1965)
  • The Little People (1966)
  • The Tripods trilogy
  • The Practice (1968, as Stanley Winchester)
  • Men With Knives (1968, as Stanley Winchester)
  • Pendulum (1968)
  • The Lotus Caves (1969)
  • The Guardians (1970)
  • The Helpers (1970, as Stanley Winchester)
  • Sword of the Spirits trilogy
  • Dom And Va (1973)
  • A Figure in Grey (1973, as Hilary Ford)
  • Ten Per Cent of Your Life (1973, as Stanley Winchester)
  • Sarnia (1974, as Hilary Ford)
  • Wild Jack (1974)
  • Castle Malindine (1975, as Hilary Ford)
  • A Bride for Bedivere (1976, as Hilary Ford)
  • Empty World (1977)
  • Fireball Trilogy
  • When the Tripods Came (1988), a prequel to The Tripods trilogy
  • A Dusk of Demons (1993)
  • Bad Dream (2003)

[edit] Short Stories

  • Blemish published in In time to come by Aidan and Nancy Chambers (ISBN 333143701)
  • Colonial published in "Astounding Science Fiction" Volume XLIII No. 2, April 1949
  • Christmas Tree published in "Astounding Science Fiction" Volume XLII No. 6, February 1949 as Christopher Youd
  • Tree Of Wrath published in "Worlds Beyond Science-Fantasy Fiction", vol 1 #2, Jan. 1951 as Christopher Youd
  • Talent published in Nebuls -SF Diges Magazine, December 1954 as Christopher Samuel Youd
  • Talent for the Future published in "Fantastic Universe", December 1954, Issue Number 11
  • A Time of Peace published in "Saturn Science Fiction" # 4, 1954
  • unknown title published in "British Digest New Worlds SF" #33 March 1955
  • unknown title published in "The best SF Stories" 3 rd Series by Grayson & Grayson 1953
  • The Gardener published in "Tales of the frightened" ghost-edited by Michael Avallone, Vol 1 No 1 1956
  • unknown title published in "Lambda I And Other Stories" edited by John Carnell Berkley Medallion Books 1964
  • The Little People published in "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction" January 1967
  • Ringing Tone published in "The tenth PAN Book of Horror Stories" edited by Herbert van Thal 1969
  • unknown title published in "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction" 1972.
  • Christmas Roses published in "world zero minus" edited by Aidan and Nancy chambers 1973

[edit] External links