JOHN WYNDHAM, the best-known pseudonym of John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (1903–1969) , was an English science fiction writer who examined the human struggle for survival when catastrophic natural phenomena suddenly invade a comfortable English setting.
During his early writing career, Wyndham wrote short stories for American pulp magazines under various pen names (eg. John Beynon, Lucas Parkes, Johnson Harris). His breakthrough came with the publication of THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1951), his first novel written under the name John Wyndham. Its depiction of lethal mobile plants that menace the human race enjoyed enormous success and established Wyndham as an important exponent of science fiction. A reviewer in The Times described the novel as as possessing "all the reality of a vividly realised nightmare." His pre-war writing career was not mentioned in the book's publicity and people were allowed to assume that this was a first novel from a previously unknown writer.
THE CHRYSALIDS (1955) is the least typical of Wyndham's major novels but regarded by some as his best. It is set in a post-nuclear dystopia where women's fertility is compromised and they are severely oppressed if they give birth to "mutants". His 1957 novel, THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS , tells the tale of an English village in which the women become pregnant by brood parasitic aliens. The book has been praised by many critics, including the dramatist Dan Rebellato, who called it a searching novel of moral ambiguities, and the novelist Margaret Atwood, who called the book Wyndham's chef d'oeuvre.
His short stories appeared in several collections published during his lifetime, chief among them JIZZLE (1954), CONSIDER HER WAYS (1961) and THE SEEDS OF TIME (1969).
Wyndham helped to redefine the science fiction genre. Up until the late 1940s, sci-fi was almost exclusively set in space and involved what Wyndham himself described as "the adventures of galactic gangsters". By choosing instead to write about situations that were rational extensions of the present day, Wyndham pioneered a form of sci-fi that he labelled "logical fantasy" but which is widely known now as "speculative fiction". With the recent inclusion of his work in Penguin's Modern Classics series, Wyndham is posthumously receiving the recognition he deserves.
The following books are in ePUB format unless otherwise noted:
== NOVELS ==
* Chocky (NYRB, 2015). Margaret Atwood, intro.
* Chocky (Penguin, 2010). Introduction by Brian Aldiss
* Chrysalids, The (NYRB, 2008). Introduction by C. Priest, intro.
* Chrysalids, The (Penguin, 2010). M.J. Harrison, intro.
* Day of the Triffids, The (Modern Library, 2022). J. VanderMere, intro.
* Day of the Triffids, The (Penguin, 2000). B. Langford, intro.
* Kraken Wakes, The (Modern Library, 2022). A. Kleeman, intro.
* Kraken Wakes, The (Penguin, 2008).
* Midwich Cuckoos, The (Penguin, 2008)
* Plan for Chaos (Penguin, 2010). D. Ketterer and A. Sawyer, eds.
* Secret People, The (Penguin, 2016)
* Trouble with Lichen, The (Penguin, 2008)
* Web (Penguin, 1980) – PDF
== SHORT FICTION ==
* Consider Her Ways and Others (Penguin, 2014). J. VanderMere, intro.
* Infinite Moment, The (Ballantine, 1961) – PDF
* Jizzle (New English Library, 1979) – PDF
* Seeds of Time, The (Penguin, 2014)
* Wanderers of Time (Coronet, 1973) – PDF
== UNCOLLECTED STORIES ==
* Close Behind Him (from Haunts, Haunts, Haunts, ed. Hokes [1977]) – PDF
* Exiles on Asperus (NEL, 1974) – PDF
* Exiles on Asperus (Wonder Stories Q, Winter 1933) – PDF
* Operation Peep (Suspense Magazine, Summer 1951) – PDF
* Phoney Meteor (Amazing Stories, March 1941) – PDF
* Sleepers of Mars (Tales of Wonder, Spring 1938) – PDF
* The Perfect Creature (Tales of Wonder, June 1937) – PDF
* The Wheel (Startling Stories, January 1952) – PDF
* The Wheel [from After the End, ed. Asimov et al.] – PDF
* Troons of Space (Fantastic, November 1958) – PDF
* Tyrant and Slave-Girl on Planet Venus (10 Story Fantasy, Spring 1951) – PDF
== OTHER ==
* Checklist of John Wyndham's Works (Science-Fiction Collector, October 1979). P. Stephensen-Payne, comp. – PDF
