Blackpool Vanishes (novel), (London: Faber, 1979; London: Panther, 1980 [pb]; London: Fontana Flamingo, 1988 [pb]).
Blackpool has been visited for years by tiny beings in flying saucers so small they are mistaken for spots before the eyes, invaders from inner rather than outer space. Only one local resident realises what’s going on and his reports, couched in verse, are not taken seriously by the Alien Beings Section of the Foreign Office until too late, when the whole resort is suddenly whisked away.
“Logic is stood on its head in the tradition of Swift.” (Financial Times) “This is mainstream literature . . . A smooth blend of satire, poetry and real imagination.” (Time Out)
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Love this novel. Read this as a kid and have returned to re-read regularly in adulthood. Would love a kindle version so I don’t have to wear out my old paperback and more.
I’m so pleased that it has meant so much to you. I would love it to be in Kindle too! If your pb falls to pieces completely, let me know _ I might be able to replace it.
Best wishes,
Richard
Hi again Richard. Any plans to bring out an e-version of this book? I know I asked ages ago but I still check regularly on Amazon to see if it has appeared…
Lost my hard copy at some point in a house move and keen to get my now-teenage daughter (herself born in Blackpool) to give it a read…
Read this years ago and loved it. I still remember a chapter title “Down Atavism Avenue! – Brilliant
Just updating my blog, came across your posting, and can’t find a record of my reply. So sorry if I didn’t get back to you! It’s great to think that book is still remembered here and there! I’m working on a historical novel at present and hugely enjoying doing it.
Best wishes,
Richard
Thanks Richard. I’m off to Blackpool at the weekend to visit family so i’ll be careful not to get myself shrunk.
This brings back memories. I found it in a seceond hand bookshop in Preston in about 1988 for 75p. Still got it somewhere.
My home town is Blackpool. I bought this bought from a second hand bookshop in Cooktown (which is at the top of the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia) in 1985. I was backpacking at the time and read it on a boat to Papua New Guinea. It was great fun, if odd, to be reading of the home streets while chugging along in the heat. I still have my copy. I’ve got lots of books but this is the only one I keep with all my travel stuff. Kevan Browning
That’s so pleasing to hear! Actually the publishers somehow managed to introduce a number of errors into that edition which were absent in the original version that came out in 1979 (those were the days before computerised typesetting). So you’ll have to forgive those. Thank you so much for taking the trouble to write. I’m still at work – I have a novel set in colonial America (a long way from Blackpool) coming out next year. Best wishes, Richard