British writer and editor (1874–1965)
Sydney Fowler Wright (6 January 1874 – 25 February 1965) was a British editor, poet, science fiction author, writer of screenplays, mystery fiction and works in other genres, as well as being an accountant and a conservative political activist.[1] He also wrote as Sydney Fowler and Anthony Wingrave.
Background
Wright was born in Holly Street, Smethwick (then in the Kings Norton registration district), England on 6 January 1874.[2][3][4] Wright left school at eleven, and spent his adolescence studying literature when not
working.[5] From a young age, Wright deliberately adopted a healthy lifestyle; he did not smoke or eat meat, and rarely drank alcohol. Wright also took regular exercise by hiking or cycling in the countryside.[5]
He was married twice. His first wife was Nellie (Julia Ellen) Ashbarry, whom he married in 1895. After Nellie's death in 1918, Wright married Truda (Anastasia Gertruda) Hancock in 1920. Wright had ten children.[5][6]
Writing career
In 1917, Wright helped found the Empire Poetry League and edited the League's journal, Poetry. Wright used Poetry to publish his translations of Dante's Inferno and Purgatorio.[5]
Wright began writing science fiction in the 1920s. The book Science-Fiction: The Early Years describes Wright as "the major British writer of genre science fiction between Wells and the moderns".[1]
His first science fiction novel was The Amphibians (1924), set in a future where humanity has been succeeded by the titular beings.[5] His 1928 novel Deluge, about a flood which devastates Britain, was a success and was later adapted into a Hollywood film of the same title.[7] The Island of Captain Sparrow (1928) was inspired by H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau. Wright's novel features a race of satyr-like beast men persecuted by humans.[5]
Wright was critical of modern industrial civilization, and his 1932 collection The New Gods Lead contained several stories attacking trends Wright disagreed with, including birth control and the motor car (The "New Gods" of the book's title were described by
Wright as Comfort and Cowardice).[5][8] The New Gods Lead includes several stories of note, including "The Rat", about
a doctor who discovers an immortality serum, and "P.N. 40", which is set in a repressive future controlled by supporters of the eugenics movement.[5] "The Choice:An Allegory of Blood and Tears" is a satire on the Christian conception of Heaven.[5]
In 1934, Wright visited Nazi Germany to write a series of newspaper articles. Alarmed at what he saw, he wrote three novels about a future war in Europe: Prelude in Prague: The War of 1938, Four Days' War, and Mediggo's Ridge.[5]
