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George Oliver OnionsPronounced by his family as in the vegetable, not oh-NY-ons. See Twentieth Century Authors, 1950. (13 November 1873 – 9 April 1961), who published under the name Oliver Onions, was an English writer of short stories and novels. He wrote in various genres, but is perhaps best remembered for his Ghost story, notably the collection Widdershins and the widely anthologized novella "The Beckoning Fair One". He was married to the novelist Berta Ruck.
In 1909, Onions married the writer Berta Ruck (1878–1978) and they had two sons: Arthur (born 1912) and William (born 1913). In 1918, he legally changed his name to George Oliver, but continued to publish under the name Oliver Onions.
He died on 9 April 1961 in Aberystwyth, Wales.
Poor Man's Tapestry (1946) and its prequel, Arras of Youth (1949) are about the adventures of a juggler, Robert Gandelyn, in the 14th century."Recent Fiction by "B.M"" (Review of Arras of Youth), The Irish Times, 23 July 1949. The Story of Ragged Robyn (1945) focuses on the adventures of the titular stonemason at the end of the 17th century, inspired by the Yorkshire legend of Peg Fyfe.F. Seymour Smith, What Shall I Read Next? A Personal Selection of Twentieth Century English Books. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010. , (p.95). Onions wrote two detective novels: A Case in Camera and In Accordance with the Evidence.Allen J. Hubin, Crime fiction, 1749–1980: a comprehensive bibliography. Garland Publishing, 1984. (p. 305) Two of his works are science fiction novels: New Moon (1918) about a utopian Britain, and The Tower of Oblivion (1921), featuring a middle-aged man who recedes back to his youth.E. F. Bleiler and Richard Bleiler. Science-Fiction: The Early Years. Kent State University Press, 1990. (p.575-76). . A Certain Man (1931), about a magical suit of clothes, and A Shilling to Spend (1965), about a self-perpetuating coin, are fantasy novels.Brian Stableford, "Onions, Oliver", in The A to Z of Fantasy Literature Scarecrow Press, Plymouth. 2005. , p. 309.
Onions wrote several collections focusing on ghost story and other weird fiction. The best known of these collections is Widdershins (1911)."Another author of weird fiction associated with the Edwardian period is Oliver Onions (1873–1961), an erstwhile illustrator who began writing for the periodicals in the 1890s, publishing his first novel in 1900." James Machin, Weird Fiction in Britain, 1880-1939. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018 , p. 85.Keith Neilson, "Collected Ghost Stories of Oliver Onions, The" in Frank N. Magill, ed. Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature, Vol 1. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, Inc., 1983. (pp.294–299). Norman Donaldson, "Oliver Onions", in E. F. Bleiler, ed. Supernatural Fiction Writers. New York: Scribner's, 1985. pp. 505–512 . It includes the novella "The Beckoning Fair One", widely placed among the best in the genre of horror fiction, especially psychological horror. On the surface, it is a conventional haunted house story: an unsuccessful writer moves into rooms in an otherwise empty house, in the hope that isolation will help his failing creativity. His sensitivity and imagination are enhanced by his seclusion, but his art, his only friend and his sanity are all destroyed in the process. The story can be read as narrating the gradual possession of the protagonist by a mysterious and possessive feminine spirit, or as a realistic description of a psychotic outbreak culminating in catatonia and murder, told from the psychotic subject's point of view.
A theme that "The Beckoning Fair One" shares with others of Onions's stories is a connection between creativity and insanity; here the artist is in danger of withdrawing from the world altogether and losing himself in his creation. Another noted story from Widdershins is "Rooum", about an engineer pursued by a mysterious entity.Mike Ashley, "Oliver Onions:The Man at the Edge" in Darrell Schweitzer, ed. Discovering Classic Horror Fiction I, Starmont House, pp. 120–126. Other ghost stories such as "The Cigarette Case", "The Rosewood Door" and "The Rope in the Rafters" involve time and identity shifts.Mike Ashley, "Onions,Oliver ", S. T. Joshi and Dziemianowicz, ed. Supernatural Literature of the World: an encyclopedia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. , pp. 874–875).
The title novella of The Painted Face (1929) concerns a Greek girl's reincarnation of an ancient spirit; Mike Ashley describes it as "one of the finest works in the genre". The collection also contains "The Master of the House", a story involving a werewolf and black magic.
A long supernatural horror novel is The Hand of Kornelius Voyt, about an isolated boy who falls under the psychic influence of a mysterious man. Onions was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his 1946 novel Poor Man's Tapestry.
On the other hand, H.P. Lovecraft's assessment of Onions' work was negative; in a 1936 letter to J. Vernon Shea, Lovecraft stated, "I have Onions' Ghosts in Daylight. ... I didn't care much for the various tales."S. T. Joshi (2002) Lovecraft's Library: A Catalogue, p. 108, Hippocampus Press .
Karl Edward Wagner's short story "In the Pines" (1973) pays homage to Onions's "The Beckoning Fair One"."The tale is a retelling of sorts of Oliver Onions' classic ghost story 'The Beckoning Fair One' (which Wagner references in his story) and it shows how well Wagner understood the mechanics of the horror tale." Stefan Dziemianowicz, Review of Where the Summer Ends and Walk on the Wild Side by Karl Edward Wagner. Locus Magazine, 13 May 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2012. "The Beckoning Fair One" was also the inspiration for a 1968 Italian/French horror film called A Quiet Place in the Country by prominent Italian director Elio Petri, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero. Russell Hoban alludes to Onions' work in his books Her Name Was Lola and Amaryllis Night and Day."He also references Gothic writers who have influenced him, such as Margaret Oliphant and Oliver Onions". Review of Her Name Was Lola by Russell Hoban. The Times, 8 November 2003, p. 14.
Reception and influence
Onions' work has largely been well received. Gahan Wilson ranked him as "one of the best, if not the best, ghost story writers working in the English language. ... Mr. Onions did as much as anyone to move phantoms and other haunts from dark, Gothic dungeons to the very room in which you presently sit.""Books", F&SF, May 1973, pp. 75–76. Discussing ghost stories, Algernon Blackwood described "The Beckoning Fair One" as "the most horrible and beautiful ever written on those lines". J. B. Priestley described Widdershins as a "book of fine creepy stories".J. B. Priestley, The Edwardians, Harper and Row, 1970, p. 129. Fellow ghost story writer A. M. Burrage said of Onions' work, "There is some hair-raising stuff in Widdershins", and added "there is great literary excellence in this book, besides satisfaction for the mere seeker after thrills."A. M. Burrage, "The Supernatural in Fiction", The Home Magazine, October 1921. Reprinted in Burrage, Someone in the Room: Strange Tales Old and New, ed. Jack Adrian. Ashcroft, B.C. : Ash-Tree Press, 1997 . Robert Aickman named "The Beckoning Fair One" as "one of the (possibly) six great masterpieces in the field". E. F. Bleiler lauded Widdershins as "a landmark book in the history of supernatural fiction".E. F. Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction, Kent State University Press, 1983, p. 392. Clemence Dane stated of Onions, "His books have a lasting attraction for a reader who enjoys using his brains and his imagination." An Irish Times review of Arras of Youth stated, "Mr. Onions writes limpid and often beautiful prose." Martin Seymour-Smith described Onions's Whom God Hath Sundered trilogy as a neglected classic: " In Accordance with the Evidence is the masterpiece of the three, but the other sequels in no way disgrace it."Martin Seymour-Smith, "Forgotten Classic". Scotland on Sunday, 22 February 1998, p. 26.) Neil Wilson calls Onions' supernatural works "notable for their depth of psychological insight, elegant writing and sophisticated plots". Wilson notes that
'The Beckoning Fair One' (1911) is regarded by many as one of the greatest English tales of the supernatural but has overshadowed Onions' other work in the genre which some consider of equal, if not greater, importance. In fact, the majority of the author's supernatural fiction is of an extremely high standard and is notable for its originality, subtlety and careful characterizations which lift it well above the average.Neil Wilson, Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British supernatural fiction, 1820–1950 British Library, London, 2000. , p. 298.
Selected bibliography
Novels
Omnibus collections
Story collections
Sources
Further reading
External links
Categories: 1873 Births, 1961 Deaths, Writers From Bradford, 20th-century English Novelists, English Horror Writers, English Historical Novelists, English Crime Fiction Writers, English Science Fiction Writers, English Fantasy Writers, British Weird Fiction Writers, James Tait Black Memorial Prize Recipients, British Ghost Story Writers, English Male Novelists, British Male Short Story Writers, 20th-century English Short Story Writers, 20th-century English Male Writers, Writers Of Historical Fiction Set In The Middle Ages, Writers Of Historical Fiction Set In The Early Modern Period
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