David Britton
Encyclopedia
David Britton is a British author, artist, and publisher. In the 1970s he founded Weird Fantasy and Crucified Toad, a series of small press
magazines of the speculative fiction
and horror
genres. In 1976 Britton co-founded (with Michael Butterworth
) the controversial publishing house Savoy Books.
comics published by Savoy. These characters also appear in a trio of novels written by Britton: Lord Horror (1990), Motherfuckers: The Auschwitz of Oz (1996), and Baptised in the Blood of Millions (2001). The first book, Lord Horror, (co-authored with Michael Butterworth) is the last book to date to be banned in the United Kingdom.
"Lord Horror," Britton has said, "was so unique and radical, I expected to go to prison for it. I always thought that if you wrote a truly dangerous book -- something dangerous would happen to you. Which is one reason there are so few really dangerous books around. Publishers play at promoting dangerous books, whether they're Serpent's Tail
or Penguin
. All you get is a book vetted by committee, never anything radically imaginative or offensive that will take your fucking head off. Ironically, I think it would do other authors a power of good if they had to account for their books by going to prison -- there are far too many bad books being published!"
Keith Seward has produced a book looking at the Lord Horror stories called Horror Panegyric which features excerpts as well as a prologue examining the tales.
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
magazines of the speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
and horror
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...
genres. In 1976 Britton co-founded (with Michael Butterworth
Michael Butterworth
Michael Butterworth is a British author and publisher who has written many novels and short stories, particularly in the genre of science fiction...
) the controversial publishing house Savoy Books.
Biography
Britton is the creator and script writer of the Lord Horror and Meng and EckerMeng and Ecker
Meng and Ecker was a British comic written by David Britton and illustrated by Kris Guidio. It was published by the controversial Manchester-based company Savoy and lasted for nine issues....
comics published by Savoy. These characters also appear in a trio of novels written by Britton: Lord Horror (1990), Motherfuckers: The Auschwitz of Oz (1996), and Baptised in the Blood of Millions (2001). The first book, Lord Horror, (co-authored with Michael Butterworth) is the last book to date to be banned in the United Kingdom.
"Lord Horror," Britton has said, "was so unique and radical, I expected to go to prison for it. I always thought that if you wrote a truly dangerous book -- something dangerous would happen to you. Which is one reason there are so few really dangerous books around. Publishers play at promoting dangerous books, whether they're Serpent's Tail
Serpent's Tail
Serpent's Tail is a British independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It is notable for its translated works, particularly European crime fiction, and is the British publisher of Elfriede Jelinek and Lionel Shriver...
or Penguin
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
. All you get is a book vetted by committee, never anything radically imaginative or offensive that will take your fucking head off. Ironically, I think it would do other authors a power of good if they had to account for their books by going to prison -- there are far too many bad books being published!"
Keith Seward has produced a book looking at the Lord Horror stories called Horror Panegyric which features excerpts as well as a prologue examining the tales.
External links
- BBC Article on the Obscene Publications Act of 1857 Notes that David Britton's Lord Horror was the last novel to be banned under the act.
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2005/07/10/boros10.xml"If Hitler had won World War Two…" by Michael MoorcockMichael MoorcockMichael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
] Declares that Britton's Lord Horror series is the only "alternate history" to confront "Nazism with appropriate originality and passion."