THREE GREAT BOOKS THAT SHOULD STILL BE IN PRINT…BUT AREN’T

 

1st May 2025

On a recent holiday in Scotland, I stopped by one of my all-time favourite haunts; the second-hand bookshop in the Mill On The Fleet, a small arts and exhibition centre in Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries and Galloway. They have a marvellous selection of books and I often spend many a happy hour there perusing their shelves. 

On this particular visit I picked up a hardback collection of Bulldog Drummond stories, covering his Four Rounds against Carl Peterson. (I like to collect old adventure stories, or ‘shockers’, as the author H.C. MacNeile described them).

I also came across a paperback, the cover of which appealed to me due to my love of pulp fiction from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. I had never even heard of this one before, but I thought I’d give it a go. The book was One By One, by Penelope Gilliatt.

I raced through it in just two sittings. It is quite a short novel, but it is also what marketing people might describe as ‘unputdownable’.

The book tells the story of the effects of a deadly pandemic affecting the UK, and more specifically London, seen mainly through the eyes of a young woman and her husband; a veterinarian who ends up working as a volunteer in a treatment centre for victims of the mysterious illness. With the benefit of hindsight, after the whole Covid 19 affair, the premise of the novel intrigued me.

Gilliatt’s writing style was interesting and, in some ways, quite unusual. Some sections of the story are delivered in an almost stream-of-consciousness manner, though this suited the story and emphasised the atmosphere of confusion brought about by the pandemic.

Some of her observations on everyday life, and her ability to make even the most mundane activities of middle class life interesting even put me in mind of the great George Orwell.

Upon finishing the book, I did a quick check on the author. Penelope Gilliatt (born Penelope Ann Douglass Conner; 25 March 1932 – 9 May 1993) was an English novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and film critic. As one of the main film critics for The New Yorker magazine in the 1960s and 1970s. Gilliatt was known for her detailed descriptions and evocative reviews. A writer of short stories, novels, non-fiction books, and screenplays, Gilliatt was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971).  

I was quite surprised to find out that this book is now out of print and that it can only be found second-hand. It got me to thinking about some of the other books in my ever-growing collection, which I have picked up over the years from second-hand bookshops and bargain bins, so here, including One By One, are three great but overlooked books which have undeservedly gone out of print. 

The authors of all three books have sadly passed away, but it will still be many years before these titles make it into the public domain and become available for anyone to access and publish.

One can only hope that whoever owns the rights to these books, and to many other works that are (at least for the foreseeable future), lost to the wider public might at some point realise that, with modern on-line and print-on-demand publishing methods, there is no real reason that these books need to vanish, even if they are not deemed commercially viable for traditional publishers.

Here then, are three great books that definitely deserve to find their way back into print:

One by One by Penelope Gilliatt

Penelope Gilliatt’s One by One (1965) was her debut novel and is a short, literary dystopian tale set in plague stricken London. The story centres on a married couple, Joe and Polly Talbot, as a mysterious “plague” kills people in the city “one by one” while each struggles with personal secrets (Joe’s hidden homosexuality is a key subplot) The novel blends domestic drama with apocalyptic themes, reflecting Gilliatt’s sharp observational style (she later became better known as a film critic) Originally published in London by Secker & Warburg (and Atheneum in the US) in 1965, One by One never saw a modern reprint; it is long out of print and today only survives via vintage hardcovers and paperbacks on the second-hand market. It has had no adaptations, though recent readers have noted its eerie parallels to real epidemics. 

The President’s Grass Is Missing by Patricia Breen-Bond

Patricia Breen-Bond’s The President’s Grass Is Missing (1980) is a satirical caper thriller about a bizarre political kidnapping. The novel’s plot hinges on the theft of a section of the White House lawn, which just happens to conceal the U.S. President’s secret stash of marijuana. The pranksters then demand a one billion dollar ransom for the plant’s return. The tone is farcical (one reviewer likened it to Donald Westlake style heist comedy) and mixes absurd humour with suspense. The book was published in New York by Belmont/Tower (Tower Pub. Inc.) in 1980. It never entered the mainstream; no film or TV adaptation exists, and today it is effectively out of print. Only the original paperback edition (and occasional used copies) remain available through second-hand dealers.

Man on a String by Michael Wolfe

Man on a String (1973) is a Vietnam era suspense thriller by “Michael Wolfe” (a pseudonym of Gilbert MacLean Williams). Set during the Vietnam War, it follows Michael Keefe, a photojournalist (with the U.S. Defense Photo Operations) who becomes entangled in espionage and combat intrigue on the front lines. The novel was praised on release and even became a finalist for the 1974 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. It was issued as a hardcover by Harper & Row in New York. Today Man on a String is out of print; only the original 1973 editions (and later paperbacks of Wolfe’s sequels) circulate in libraries and used-book shops. No screen adaptation was made, but the book launched Wolfe’s four novel “Michael Keefe” series (with later titles in 1975–77). 

If you can track down any of these three works, I would heartily recommend getting hold of them and giving them a read. Perhaps you can come up with your own list of titles that you'd like to see back in print, or even have books of your own that are out of print. If so, we'd love to hear from you. drop us an email at: 

  contact@brindlebooks.co.uk

[Sources: Contemporary publishing records and book reviews lornebair.com   jasondeanbooks.blogspot.com  barnesandnoble.com tbclrarebooks.com literary databases (Open Library, Stop, You’re Killing Me) and book trade listings openlibrary.org stopyourekillingme.com for publication details and availability.]