3/8/10

I think I'm having a BREAKDOWN!


Breakdown! Oh no, never mind. Not me. I'm fine, but this poor fellow seems to be in bad shape.

Patrick Marsh_Breakdown_tatteredandlost
Click on image to see it larger.
Breakdown by Patrick Marsh, published in 1953 by Longmans, Green and Co.

This is one of the books in the bag from the cabin. Have not read it. It sat on the shelf for decades. And doing a search online it does not appear he wrote any other books, at least they don't show up in any search. The only thing I can find online is that it was turned into a BBC drama in 1961:
While A for Andromeda was still running, the BBC presented a 75 minute adaptation by William Best and Donald Bull of Patrick Marsh's Breakdown novel. In The Test, Dr John Armstrong (Nicholas Selby), is engaged on defence work involving forces of appalling power, and grave fears of a miscalculation - with terrifying consequences - are added to the considerable strain he is under over his turbulent private life, his wife, Mary (Sheila Ballantine), having fallen in love with a colleague. The Times thought Alan Bromly's production, "though never failing to interest us, did not hold us spellbound or make us feel that human emotions were under any greater strain than usual as a result of the dangerous forces involved." While in Number Three (1953) the subject of the scientist's researches was the raison d'étre of the play, The Test was essentially a study of one man's mental breakdown, with the science-fiction elements a mere cipher - he could just as easily have been the stressed-out designer of a new (conventional) aircraft, for example. At the time of writing it is not known if a recording of the play survives, but given other productions of the same vintage this is unlikely. (SOURCE: British Telefantasy)
Now the artist that drew the cover art is a slightly different story. His name, Rus Anderson, does show up. Not a lot, but several times for children's books, including one for Disney, The Shaggy Dog. I have the actual Shaggy Dog book around here somewhere in my children's book collection, but of course can't find it right now. But I also have some of the illustrations in an old Disney compilation volume, Walt Disney's America. It seems Rus had the job of twice doing illustrations of men having breakdowns. One a scientist with romance problems, the other a boy turned into a dog with romance problems. I'm seeing a pattern.

When you work in publishing you take whatever job comes along.

2 comments:

  1. I think I've actually seen this book cover somewhere! Probably in an antiques store. It really seems familiar. He looks like he might have a splitting headache!

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  2. Of the cheesy book jackets on the different books in the bag this one is my favorite. Wait until I show the historical romance novels. Oyyyyyyyyy. So bad.

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