Harmer John encounters xenophobia, jealousy, and malice. But not everyone shares his vision, especially the slumlords who make their money by renting the slum to those who are poor and vulnerable, those unable to afford anything better.

He envisions tearing down the slums along the river and rebuilding the area with more attractive and publicly healthier buildings. He establishes a business, essentially a gymnasium, to help people become healthier. He has a vision of transforming the town and its populace to a healthier and more beautiful state. He is attracted to Polchester by the cathedral. His name is “simplified” by the townsfolk to Harmer John. Here you’ll find articles and lists with thousands of books that have been neglected, overlooked, forgotten, or stranded by changing tides in critical or popular taste.Hjalmar Johanson (novel, 1926) is a boyish unworldly Swedish body builder come to Walpole’s fictional cathedral town of Polchester. Welcome to the Neglected Books page, edited and mostly written by Brad Bigelow. I hope you’ll join us in these celebrations of great writing and great reading. And afterwards, the video of these discussions will be posted on the Neglected Books channel on YouTube.

You’ll be able to register via Eventbrite and take part in our discussions on Zoom. Two Thousand Million Man-Power by Gertrude TrevelyanĪrmy Without Banners by Ann Stafford (forthcoming)Įach session will be announced on this site, as well as via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. So, to spotlight a few of these, I’ll be hosting a Zoom session during which we talk about a book that each publisher has chosen from their catalogs.Ī Game of Snakes and Ladders, Doris Langley Moore This might well be a golden age for lovers of neglected books, as we have a wealth of publishers bringing an incredible range of terrific books back to print. This time, however, instead of focusing on a single book and author, I’m teaming up with 12 publishers who specialize in reissuing the sort of books we feature on this site: fascinating and exceptional books that have, for no fault of their own, fallen out of print. This experience has been so enjoyable, I decided to organize another group for 2023. I’ve put together a special website - to support readers tackling this remarkable but often daunting masterpiece. Throughout 2022, I’ve been facilitating a monthly reading group working our way through Dorothy Richardson’s Pilgrimage, a book I often evangelize for.

Sally on the Rocks by Winifred Boggs