Charles Eric Maine
Encyclopedia
Charles Eric Maine was an English science fiction writer whose most prominent works were published in the 1950s and 1960s. His stories were thrillers that dealt with new scientific technology.
.
He published three issues of a science fiction magazine called The Satellite
which he co-edited along with J. F. Burke. From 1940 to 1941, he published his own magazine called Gargoyle.
During World War II, he was in the Royal Air Force
and served in Northern Africa in 1943.
After the war, he worked in TV engineering, and became involved in editorial work with radio and TV. During 1952, he sold his first radio play, Spaceways, to the BBC
. Due to its popularity, it became a novel as well as a movie
.
One of his best known stories, Timeliner
, was about a scientist who experiments with a time machine, only to be maliciously thrust into the future by a fellow scientist who was having an affair with his wife.
It was originally written as a radio play known as The Einstein Highway.
He died in London in 1981.
Biography
McIlwain was born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
He published three issues of a science fiction magazine called The Satellite
The Satellite
The Satellite is a small rock peak rising to 1,100 m, protruding slightly above the ice sheet 3 nautical miles southwest of Pearce Peak and 8 nautical miles east of Baillieu Peak. Discovered and named in February 1931 by the British Australian New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition under...
which he co-edited along with J. F. Burke. From 1940 to 1941, he published his own magazine called Gargoyle.
During World War II, he was in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and served in Northern Africa in 1943.
After the war, he worked in TV engineering, and became involved in editorial work with radio and TV. During 1952, he sold his first radio play, Spaceways, to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. Due to its popularity, it became a novel as well as a movie
Spaceways
Spaceways is a 76-minute, 1953, British-American, black and white, science fiction film co-produced by Hammer Film Productions Ltd. and Lippert Productions Inc.. It was filmed entirely in England by the Hammer company, with Michael Carreras as producer-of-record and American Robert L...
.
One of his best known stories, Timeliner
Timeliner
Timeliner is a 1955 science fiction novel by Charles Eric Maine. It was first published in the U. K. by Hodder & Stoughton; a paperback version by Bantam Books appeared the following year....
, was about a scientist who experiments with a time machine, only to be maliciously thrust into the future by a fellow scientist who was having an affair with his wife.
It was originally written as a radio play known as The Einstein Highway.
He died in London in 1981.
Movies
- The Electronic Monster (1958)
- Timeslip (1956; it was the basis for the later novel, The Isotope Man)
- The Mind of Mr. SoamesThe Mind of Mr. SoamesThe Mind of Mr. Soames is a 1970 British film directed by Alan Cooke and starring Terence Stamp, Robert Vaughn and Nigel Davenport. Based on Charles Eric Maine's 1961 novel of the same name, The Mind of Mr...
(1970)