Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997)
Houghton, Claude
Tagged: Author.
Working name of UK writer Claude Houghton Oldfield (1889-1961). Much of his work has no genre content; some is sf. Neighbours (1926) hovers at the edge of Supernatural Fiction, though the Double on whom the protagonist spies is in fact a projection. Julian Grant Loses His Way (1933) is a Posthumous Fantasy whose protagonist's unpleasant life, of which he is forced to relive bits, mirrors Houghton's sense of the decadence of England between the World Wars. Three Fantastic Tales (coll 1934) contains Allegories whose carriers are profoundly estranged from the shabby world. This Was Ivor Trent (1935) and The Man Who Could Still Laugh (circa 1935 in unknown Czech magazine; 1943 chap) are sf. [JC]
Claude Houghton Oldfield
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