Badger Books
Encyclopedia
Badger Books was an imprint used by the British
publisher John Spencer & Co. between 1960 and 1967. Badger Books were published in a number of genres
, predominantly war
, westerns
, romance
, supernatural
and science fiction
. The best-known author of Badger Books is Lionel Fanthorpe
, who wrote a large proportion of the supernatural and science fiction titles.
of Samuel Assael (born 1920), who set up his London
-based publishing company in 1947. Initially Spencer's output consisted of pulp magazine
s, mainly in the science fiction genre (with titles like Futuristic Science Stories, Tales of Tomorrow *and Wonders of the Spaceways). However, with the decline of the pulp magazine and rise of the paperback, Spencer switched to paperback publishing in the mid-1950s. He used a number of imprints, including "John Spencer", "Cobra" and "Badger", but the last of these has become the best known. The Badger Books imprint was discontinued in 1967 although Spencer continued to produce a small number of books (often reprints) until the late 1970s.
In common with other "pulp" or mass-market publishers of the time, Badger Books focused on quantity rather than quality. A new title in each of the major genres appeared each month, generally written to tight deadlines by low-paid authors. One of the most remarkable facts about Badger Books is that much of its outputs was produced by just two authors (using a range of house names and other pseudonyms): John Glasby
(over 300 novel
s and short stories
) and Lionel Fanthorpe
(over 200 novels and stories).
The company was based at 131 Brackenbury Road, Hammersmith
. It ran on a shoestring with Mr Assael overseeing everything. The accounts were overseen by Assaels partner Maurice Nahum. Employees numbered only three, all young men. One worked in the office with Nahum and the other two packed books. David Andersen (the source of this information) worked for this company between 1961 and 1963 mostly in the office with Maurice Nahum.
In addition to these five main genres, there were several other short-lived series such as Crime stories (CS-1 to CS-13) and Spy stories (SP-1 to SP-6). The latter books, dating from 1965 to 1967, were intended to "cash-in" on the then-current James Bond
craze. All six of the Spy books were written by John Glasby under the pseudonym of Manning K. Robertson.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
publisher John Spencer & Co. between 1960 and 1967. Badger Books were published in a number of genres
Literary genre
A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even length. Genre should not be confused with age category, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young-adult, or children's. They also must not be confused...
, predominantly war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
, westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
, romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
, supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. The best-known author of Badger Books is Lionel Fanthorpe
Lionel Fanthorpe
The Reverend Robert Lionel Fanthorpe is a British priest and entertainer, and has at various times worked as a journalist, teacher, television presenter, author and lecturer...
, who wrote a large proportion of the supernatural and science fiction titles.
History
"John Spencer" was the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Samuel Assael (born 1920), who set up his London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based publishing company in 1947. Initially Spencer's output consisted of pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
s, mainly in the science fiction genre (with titles like Futuristic Science Stories, Tales of Tomorrow *and Wonders of the Spaceways). However, with the decline of the pulp magazine and rise of the paperback, Spencer switched to paperback publishing in the mid-1950s. He used a number of imprints, including "John Spencer", "Cobra" and "Badger", but the last of these has become the best known. The Badger Books imprint was discontinued in 1967 although Spencer continued to produce a small number of books (often reprints) until the late 1970s.
In common with other "pulp" or mass-market publishers of the time, Badger Books focused on quantity rather than quality. A new title in each of the major genres appeared each month, generally written to tight deadlines by low-paid authors. One of the most remarkable facts about Badger Books is that much of its outputs was produced by just two authors (using a range of house names and other pseudonyms): John Glasby
John Glasby
John Stephen Glasby was a prolific British author whose work spanned a range of popular genres. A professional research chemist and mathematician, he produced over 300 novels and short stories during the 1950s and 1960s, most of which were published pseudonymously under the Badger Books...
(over 300 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s and short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
) and Lionel Fanthorpe
Lionel Fanthorpe
The Reverend Robert Lionel Fanthorpe is a British priest and entertainer, and has at various times worked as a journalist, teacher, television presenter, author and lecturer...
(over 200 novels and stories).
The company was based at 131 Brackenbury Road, Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
. It ran on a shoestring with Mr Assael overseeing everything. The accounts were overseen by Assaels partner Maurice Nahum. Employees numbered only three, all young men. One worked in the office with Nahum and the other two packed books. David Andersen (the source of this information) worked for this company between 1961 and 1963 mostly in the office with Maurice Nahum.
Genres
The bulk of Badger Books' output fell into five genres as follows:- Westerns, published as "Lariat Westerns" (LW-1 to LW-77) and "Blazing Westerns" (BW-1 to B-60). Many of these novels appeared under the house name "Chuck Adams", which was used by John Glasby and others. At least two of the Chuck Adams books, and several of the other western titles, were written by E. C. TubbEdwin Charles TubbEdwin Charles Tubb was a British writer of science fiction, fantasy and western novels. The author of over 140 novels and 230 short stories and novellas, Tubb is best known for The Dumarest Saga an epic science-fiction saga set in the far future...
, who later became better known as a science fiction author.
- War stories (WW-1 to WW-163). Generally set during the Second World War, most of these novels were written by John Glasby using a wide range of pseudonyms.
- Romance novels (RS-1 to RS-40). The bulk of these were written by John Glasby under the pseudonym of D. K. Jennings.
- Supernatural tales (SN-1 to SN-109). Most of these books were written by Lionel Fanthorpe under a variety of pseudonyms. Unlike the other series (which are all novels), the SN books started out as anthologies of short stories. Novels started to appear as "Supernatural Specials" with issues 29, 32 and 35, and then all the even-numbered issues from SN-40 onwards.
- Science Fiction (SF-1 to SF-118). Like the SN series, the SF books were mainly written by Lionel Fanthorpe, with a few contributions by John Glasby and others. Several of these books appeared under the house name of "John E. Muller", which was used by both Fanthorpe and Glasby.
In addition to these five main genres, there were several other short-lived series such as Crime stories (CS-1 to CS-13) and Spy stories (SP-1 to SP-6). The latter books, dating from 1965 to 1967, were intended to "cash-in" on the then-current James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
craze. All six of the Spy books were written by John Glasby under the pseudonym of Manning K. Robertson.
External links
- John Spencer & Co., Internet Speculative Fiction DatabaseInternet Speculative Fiction DatabaseThe Internet Speculative Fiction Database is a database of bibliographic information on science fiction and related genres such as fantasy fiction and horror fiction. The ISFDB is a volunteer effort, with both the database and wiki being open for editing and user contributions...
- John Spencer, philsp.com