{"product_id":"time-a-falconer-mark-valentine-9798385621248","title":"Time, A Falconer: A Study of Sarban","description":"In this biographical study Mark Valentine enables us to understand more of John William Wall (1910-1989), the diffident, compassionate, highly intelligent and sensitive man who wrote under the pseudonym Sarban.\u003cbr\u003eUntil recently very little was known about the writer. His three published books, \u003ci\u003eRingstones\u003c\/i\u003e (1951), \u003ci\u003eThe Sound of His Horn\u003c\/i\u003e (1952) and \u003ci\u003eThe Doll Maker\u003c\/i\u003e (1953)\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ehinted at a complex personality, and the little available information has only added to the fascination he has exercised. \u003ci\u003eThe Sound of His Horn\u003c\/i\u003e, a cult classic, explores the possibilities of what would have happened if Germany had won World War Two, and was much admired by Kingsley Amis. This science fiction fantasy has been often reprinted, but until recently all that readers were allowed to know of Sarban was that he 'worked in the East and longed for England'.\u003cbr\u003eMark Valentine, however, has delved into the author's own archive and is now able to present us with this study and introductory biography of Sarban. Valentine follows Wall from his working-class roots in Yorkshire through a scholarship to Cambridge University and a distinguished diplomatic career in the Foreign Office and subsequent postings in Cairo, Jedda, Tabriz, Isfahan, Casablanca, Salonika and Paraguay. After leaving the Foreign Office in 1967, Wall worked at GCHQ Cheltenham before his final retirement. And all through his working life Sarban wrote fascinating and subtle fiction of the fantastic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mark Valentine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 8385621245\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798385621248\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/07\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 152\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.51lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.35d","brand":"Mark Valentine","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46401514471679,"sku":"9798385621248","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_6dfc281e-8e0e-4f5f-9c6b-689276ef5e21.jpg?v=1733887813","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/time-a-falconer-mark-valentine-9798385621248","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}