Talk of the Town

John MacLachlan Gray, Playwright, Columnist and Novelist

Tue. May 6, 7:30-9:00 pm

With: John MacLachlan Gray, author of A Gift for the Little Master and a new novel, The Fiend in Human

John MacLachlan Gray is a writer with strong feelings and opinions, as regular readers of his column in the Globe & Mail will attest. At times he writes like the literary equivalent of a red-tailed hawk: he surveys the scuffle of human activity with a wide-ranging and penetrating gaze, looking for pretention and puffery and when a suitable target is found, he strikes with dazzling speed and deadly precision. The wit and passion that inform his writing also leave their mark, yet he is never mean-spirited, cruel or thoughtless. In fact, thinking things through is the hallmark of all his writing. Now that he has turned his incisive mind to writing novels, he has the novelist's scope of history, landscape, psychology and character to explore and express his insightful ideas.

The discussion will take place at UBC's Robson Square campus. Attendance is free of charge, but please register by phoning 604.822.1700.

The following description of John MacLachlan Gray's new novel, The Fiend in Human comes from the publisher's web site:

Already an international rights sensation, this dazzling thriller stalks and illuminates the dark, disintegrating walkways of Victorian London.

It's 1852, and the ranks of the London poor have doubled. In the swollen shadow of the great St. Giles Rookery, fallen women attract perfumed dandies of the West End in a vicious circle of venality, vanity and vice.

Edmund Whitty, correspondent for The Falcon, the city's second-best sensational tabloid, writes whatever will stimulate the reader, delay his (increasingly physical) creditors, and supply him with the alcohol and opiates required to see him through the day. His most recent triumph was to supply a name to the fiend in human form who has murdered God knows how many prostitutes with a white silk scarf: Chokee Bill. To the correspondent's satisfaction, Chokee Bill incited a garrotting panic that paralyzed the business of London -- until the arrest of one William Ryan. Normality has returned. The hangman, Mr. Calcraft, as dusty and dreary as death itself, awaits.

Broke again and in search of crisp copy, Whitty makes a shocking but not altogether surprising discovery: the white-scarf slayings have continued. When he endeavours to find the real Chokee Bill, he is greeted with emphatic hostility, both official and unofficial.

This Dickensian tale offers galvanizing suspense and an evocative and witty vision of life in Victorian London -- in which the hallmark of a gentleman is perfection without, putrefaction within, and the hallmark of a lady is to have snared a gentleman.

Praise for The Fiend in Human

"The Fiend in Human gives the reader the kind of experience one wishes all historical novels provided but almost never do. It throws open the door on a side of Victorian London few will be acquainted with, and does so with an exuberance and wealth of detail worthy of the nineteenth-century masters. Vivid characters, dead-on dialogue, and a galloping good plot make The Fiend in Human a tale irresistible." -- Giles Blunt, author of Forty Words for Sorrow and The Delicate Storm.

"Altogether, Gray has written a fine thriller that explores the power and limits of the press, as well as the depths of the human beast". -- Mark Frutkin, Amazon.ca.

Biography

John MacLachlan Gray is a writer-composer-performer for the stage, film, television, radio and print. He is best known for his stage musicals, including the phenomenally successful Billy Bishop Goes to War, and for his satirical videos on CBC-TV's The Journal. Gray is the recipient of many awards -- a Golden Globe, the Governor General's Medal and most recently the Order of Canada. He currently writes a weekly column entitled "Gray's Anatomy" for the Globe and Mail. He lives in Vancouver with his personal demons.

Selected Bibliography

The Fiend in Human, Random House of Canada, 2003
A Gift for the Little Master, Seal, 2001

Links & Readings

Random House: John MacLachlan Gray

Random House publishes John MacLachlan Gray in Canada.

The CBC

The CBC is just one of the places that seeks Mr. Gray's opinion on current events. Here is a commentary on the idea of naming a mountain after Pierre Trudeau.

Globe & Mail

The Globe & Mail has been publishing John MacLachlan Gray's column for a number of years. Here is an on-line selection:

• On Trudeau
• On making sense
• On Canadian television drama
• On CBC Radio