The Day of the Triffids is a 1951 post-apocalyptic novel about a plague of blindness that befalls the entire world, allowing the rise of an aggressive species of plant. It was written by the English science fiction author John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris, under the pen name John Wyndham. The story has been made into the 1962 feature film of the same name, three radio drama series in 1957, 1968 and 2008, and two TV series in 1981 and 2009. For unknown reasons it was re-titled Revolt Of The Triffids for the 1952 Popular Library edition. This promotional misstep was more than atoned for by the great cover art by Earle Bergey who cut his teeth doing reams of seminal cover work for science fiction pulps through out the 1930s and 40s. Bergeys cover for 1950s The Big Eye by Max Ehrlich is equally eye catching. This novel is part of the new future genre; the time was 1960 with Russia and America poised on the brink of atomic war. Then came the shattering news from Palomar Observatory that a new planet had been discovered -- a planet that was rushing toward a collision with the Earth on Christmas Day, 1962. Suddenly there was no need for war. People went wild trying to cram a lifetime into two precious years Frank Scully was an American journalist, author and entertainment columnist for Variety. He wrote only one science fiction novel. In 1949, Scully published two columns in Variety, claiming that extraterrestrial beings were recovered from a flying saucer crash, based on what he said was reported to him by a scientist involved. His book Behind the Flying Saucers (1951) expanded on the theme, adding that there had been three such incidents in New Mexico & one in Arizona, including one that crashed near Aztec, NM in 48 that was 100 feet in diameter. The saucers supposedly worked on magnetic principles. In the book, Scully revealed two sources to be a Silas Newton & a scientist named Dr. Gee. 60,000 copies of the book were sold. In 1952 and 1956, True magazine published articles by San Francisco Chronicle reporter John Philip Cahn that exposed Newton and Dr. Gee (identified as Leo A. GeBauer) as con artists who had hoaxed a gullible Scully. The cover by Earle Bergey captures the hoopla beautifully. I love that everyones in their pajamas and nightgowns.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 12:15:32 +0000
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