Have Harley-Davidson -- will travel!"

April 12, 2005 1:38 PM

"Trinkle did not possess a legal mind. He was a mental grasshopper, an intellectual kangaroo, a mind wallaby."
The Lionel Fanthorpe text library. Random snippets from the extensive writing career of one of the greatest human beings who has ever lived. Anglican priest, comprehensive school headmaster, TV personality, biker, Fortean. Just reading his biography page makes me feel tired.
posted by thatwhichfalls (4 comments total)

"With Lionel, it's not merely that the author doesn't object but that we're laughing with him -- at the spectacle of an intelligent chap with a distinct sense of humour confronting impossible writing conditions. Under the cruel lash of John Spencer & Co (Publishers) Ltd, entire books had to be churned out in perhaps eight or twelve hours. Nevertheless deadlines were clubbed to death by the mighty Fanthorpe thesaurus, smothered with relentless padding, stunned by deus ex machina twists, placated by outrageous literary steals....

From the "writing" link above.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 1:50 PM on April 12, 2005

Every minute looked as though it was going to be their last. Every second looked as though it was to be their penultimate fraction of existence time.

That's genius.
posted by DangerIsMyMiddleName at 3:20 PM on April 12, 2005

what a great man, a genius and a very likeable chap
posted by quarsan at 10:24 PM on April 12, 2005

the fact that he just uses anagrams of the original names when he steals from literature is hilarious.
posted by juv3nal at 11:07 PM on April 12, 2005