Christine Campbell Thomson & Not At Night
Encyclopedia
Christine Campbell Thomson (1897–1985) was a British
horror fiction
author best known for the Not At Night series. She also wrote under the name Flavia Richardson.
Originally intended as a one off collection, the series was such a success that Campbell Thomson edited eleven volumes and an omnibus between 1925 and 1937. In all, there were 170 stories and, according to noted fantasy bibliographer Mike Ashley
, exactly 100 of these came from the legendary American pulp Weird Tales
. Among the contributors were such greats of horror fiction as H. P. Lovecraft
, Robert E. Howard, Seabury Quinn, Oscar Cook
and Rupert Grayson. The books in the series were all published by Selwyn & Blount.
After "Not At Night", Campbell would later publish her autobiography I Am A Literary Agent (Sampson Low, 1951). She and Not At Night legend Oscar Cook were divorced in 1938, and Christine remarried in 1945, adopting her second husband's surname, Hartley, for her two non-fiction occult titles, The Western Mystery Tradition (1968) and A Case For Reincarnation (1972).
Christine died, aged 88, on September 29, 1985. Six weeks later, Charles Birkin
, ten years her junior died on November 8. Between then, they had been responsible for arguably the two most intriguing series' of horror fiction to be published in England between the wars.
Arrow books published three paperback compilations from the series from 1960-62 as:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
author best known for the Not At Night series. She also wrote under the name Flavia Richardson.
Originally intended as a one off collection, the series was such a success that Campbell Thomson edited eleven volumes and an omnibus between 1925 and 1937. In all, there were 170 stories and, according to noted fantasy bibliographer Mike Ashley
Mike Ashley (writer)
Michael Ashley is a British bibliographer, author and editor of science fiction, mystery, and fantasy.He edits the long-running Mammoth Book series of short story anthologies, each arranged around a particular theme in mystery, fantasy, or science fiction...
, exactly 100 of these came from the legendary American pulp Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
. Among the contributors were such greats of horror fiction as H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
, Robert E. Howard, Seabury Quinn, Oscar Cook
Oscar Cook
Richard Martin Oscar Cook, known as Oscar Cook , was a British author of novels, non-fiction works and short stories with a supernatural theme.-Life:...
and Rupert Grayson. The books in the series were all published by Selwyn & Blount.
After "Not At Night", Campbell would later publish her autobiography I Am A Literary Agent (Sampson Low, 1951). She and Not At Night legend Oscar Cook were divorced in 1938, and Christine remarried in 1945, adopting her second husband's surname, Hartley, for her two non-fiction occult titles, The Western Mystery Tradition (1968) and A Case For Reincarnation (1972).
Christine died, aged 88, on September 29, 1985. Six weeks later, Charles Birkin
Charles Birkin
Sir Charles Lloyd Birkin, 5th Baronet was an English author of horror short stories and the editor of the Creeps Library of anthologies...
, ten years her junior died on November 8. Between then, they had been responsible for arguably the two most intriguing series' of horror fiction to be published in England between the wars.
Not At Night titles
- Not At Night (October, 1925
- More Not At Night (Sept. 1926)
- You'll Need A Night Light (Sept. 1927)
- Gruesome Cargoes (July, 1928)
- By Daylight Only (Oct. 1929)
- Switch On The Light (April, 1931)
- At Dead Of Night (Nov, 1931)
- Grim Death (Aug, 1932)
- Keep On The Light (July, 1933)
- Terror By Night (Aug., 1934)
- Nightmare By Daylight (April, 1936)
- Not At Night Omnibus (April 1937)
Arrow books published three paperback compilations from the series from 1960-62 as:
- Not At Night (1960)
- More Not At Night (1961)
- Still Not At Night (1962)