Bill Hopkins (novelist)
Encyclopedia
Bill Hopkins was an English novelist and journalist, and has been grouped with the Angry Young Men
. His father was Ted Hopkins, a popular stage performer; his mother Violet Brodrick.
His one published novel is a philosophical thriller, The Divine and The Decay (London, MacGibbon and Kee, 1957), also published as The Leap! In this story, the fate of Britain hangs in the balance. Political parties are jockeying for power. A recently formed political party (the New Britain Party) is led by a visionary firebrand, Peter Plowart, who has planned the assassination of his arch-rival, the leader of another political party. As he anticipates the assassination, he realises he must establish an alibi to show that he was somewhere else when it all comes to pass. By examining the statistics tables of a meticulously researched government census, he decides to make a little trip to a little island off the coast of Britain
(modelled on one of the smaller Channel Islands
)and give a speech to the citizens there. If everything were timed properly, he could rely quite simply on the inhabitants remembering him visiting them, and they would vouch for him being with them when the actual assassination took place. His encounter with the islanders, however, leads him to question and test his "will power".
This Nietzschean novel is noteworthy in that the publisher voluntarily recalled all known copies of the work, and had them destroyed, as a result of critical allegations of fascistic themes. Surviving copies of the publisher's initial print run are rare and can command prices in three figures (G.B. pounds or U.S. dollars in the year 2007). Although there exist reprints under the title "The Leap", these do not command the same price.
Hopkins was also the author of "Ways Without Precedent", an essay collected in an anthology of pieces by writers identified as Angry Young Men (and women), Declaration
, edited by Tom Maschler (London, MacGibbon and Kee, 1957). He has also written some poetry.
He has been identified closely with the authors Colin Wilson
and Stuart Holroyd
, with whom he shared a house in London in the late 1950s.
Angry young men
The "angry young men" were a group of mostly working and middle class British playwrights and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. The group's leading members included John Osborne and Kingsley Amis.The phrase was originally coined by the Royal Court Theatre's press officer to promote John...
. His father was Ted Hopkins, a popular stage performer; his mother Violet Brodrick.
His one published novel is a philosophical thriller, The Divine and The Decay (London, MacGibbon and Kee, 1957), also published as The Leap! In this story, the fate of Britain hangs in the balance. Political parties are jockeying for power. A recently formed political party (the New Britain Party) is led by a visionary firebrand, Peter Plowart, who has planned the assassination of his arch-rival, the leader of another political party. As he anticipates the assassination, he realises he must establish an alibi to show that he was somewhere else when it all comes to pass. By examining the statistics tables of a meticulously researched government census, he decides to make a little trip to a little island off the coast of Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
(modelled on one of the smaller Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
)and give a speech to the citizens there. If everything were timed properly, he could rely quite simply on the inhabitants remembering him visiting them, and they would vouch for him being with them when the actual assassination took place. His encounter with the islanders, however, leads him to question and test his "will power".
This Nietzschean novel is noteworthy in that the publisher voluntarily recalled all known copies of the work, and had them destroyed, as a result of critical allegations of fascistic themes. Surviving copies of the publisher's initial print run are rare and can command prices in three figures (G.B. pounds or U.S. dollars in the year 2007). Although there exist reprints under the title "The Leap", these do not command the same price.
Hopkins was also the author of "Ways Without Precedent", an essay collected in an anthology of pieces by writers identified as Angry Young Men (and women), Declaration
Declaration
Declaration may refer to:* Declaration , specifies the identifier, type, and other aspects of language elements* Declaration , when the captain of a cricket team declares its innings closed...
, edited by Tom Maschler (London, MacGibbon and Kee, 1957). He has also written some poetry.
He has been identified closely with the authors Colin Wilson
Colin Wilson
Colin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
and Stuart Holroyd
Stuart Holroyd
Stuart Holroyd is a British writer.He first came to prominence for the philosophical and critical works produced during his close association with the writers Colin Wilson and Bill Hopkins, but has since written prolifically on parapsychology, contacts with extraterrestrial life, sexual love and...
, with whom he shared a house in London in the late 1950s.