Hemlock and After

"Hemlock and After" is a 1952 novel by British writer Angus Wilson; it was his first published novel after a series of short stories. The novel offers a candid portrayal of gay life in post-war England.

Plot introduction

Bernard Sands, a prominent writer who has been given financial aid to start a writer's colony at Vardon Hall, faces a flailing marriage, attempts to come to grips with his homosexuality and lives next door to a procuress for pedophiles.

Characters in "Hemlock and After"

* Bernard Sands, the protagonist; a homosexual.
* Ella, Bernard's wife.
* Elizabeth, the Sands's daughter.
* James, the Sands's son.
* Charles,a friend of Bernard's; a senior civil servant.
* Mrs Curry, the Sands's neighbour; a procuress for pedophiles.
* Hubert Rose, an architect and a pedophile.

References to other works

* Angus Wilson said in an interview that the ending of the novel was Dickensian. http://www.parisreview.com/media/4848_WILSON.pdf]

Trivia

The novel was written in only four weeks.

References

External links

* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,935800,00.html?iid=chix-sphere Review from Time Magazine]