Raymond Sheppard and the Crusader series - Part Four

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
 

I have shown 5 of the Crusader series published by Blackie & Son in previous articles - along with a full listing of all the series (illustrated by Sheppard and others). Today I want to carry on with three more titles by an author called Fay King.

THE DESERTED CITY by Fay King (Blackie, 1951)

Cover

Several huge black birds swept across their path
Frontispiece for p.36

They built a fire before the Witch-Doctor's squatting figure
Page 13 for p.18

A light suddenly shattered the darkness of the cave
Page 32 for p.26

“The rescue party! They're through!”
Page 49 for p.47

THE DESERTED CITY tells the story of Tom, whose parents have been killed in a car accident, and consequently he travels to South Africa to meet his uncle and his cousin Bill, who live on the edge of Kalahari Desert. Tom soon encounters the local life and learns of mysterious disappearances of people within a tribe and then also the chief himself. The local witch doctor starts a fire to be able to read the smoke and discern what has happened and he warns there is great danger in a cave with 3 flat stones. Tom and Bill are out riding around looking at the cattle when a storm forces them to abandon their horses - so they head towards a little hill and despite realising it's the one 'seen' by the witch doctor they go inside the cave, only to be confronted by a mad man with a leopard. On reaching for their guns they find they have disappeared and the mad man lights a torch and aims a revolver at them. He claims to be the ruler of the desert and has discovered the legendary deserted city. He then leads the boys on a long trip underground and soon they reach the deserted city and find they are not the only prisoners! Bill is shot after bravely lunging at the mad man, while Tom is put behind bars along with many other prisoners. They naturally escape and a search party eventually finds them.

Sheppard's art for this tale appears to me to be rough around the edges, yet is still pleasing.

RUSTLERS AT THE BAR-TWO RANCH by Fay King (Blackie, 1952)

 

Cover

The little plane zoomed down over the heads of the terrified animals
Frontispiece for p.36

“Hi! Take a good look,” he said. “There' someone there.”
Page 11 for p.7

With all his strength he flung himself at Scarface
Page 30 for p.26

Quick as a flash the doctor had the revolver in his hand
Page 47 for p.26

RUSTLERS AT THE BAR-TWO RANCH is a story which says it all in the title. A family ranch sees cattle disappearing, despite no-one hearing or seeing anything and also the dog not barking! The two boys ride out one morning and discover some suspicious men living in an old hut on their land. Deciding to return that night, the boys and the action starts. The boys are captured. Needless to say their sister who can mend and fly the family plane saves the day by scaring the rustled cattle so they stampede. One man helps his dying colleague back to the hut and insists a doctor is fetched. This leads to the fight illustrated above. The children find out the traitor is their workman and that explains why the dog did not bark!

 

FAY KING (not to be confused with the American cartoonist) is the maiden name of Fay Goldie (she was married to Andrew Goldie). She also wrote under the pseudonym Richard Burns. The Cambridge guide to children's books in English, (2001) gives the following information: "Goldie [King], Fay; 1905-1993; prolific South African writer of non-fiction and some fiction."The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature (2006) tells us:

(1905–1993), South African writer whose children's books may be considered representative of the few in English produced in the 1950s and 1960s. Ostrich Country (1968) is a lively exposition of every aspect of ostriches. Fay King Goldie's fiction, such as her historical novel about the late-19th-century gold rush, River of Gold (1969), features flat, stereotypical characterization. In spite of gestures toward the modern themes of nature conservation (Friends of the Bushveld, 1954) and the lives of contemporary black children (Zulu Boy, 1968), her work was old-fashioned, especially in her simplistic, patronizing portrayal of black people.

In March 1936, at the age of 31, she travelled to Southampton from Capetown on the 'Llandaff Castle' and gave her address as 35, Greenhill Road, Harrow and her occupation as 'journalist'. Why she was travelling, we don't know.  The Cape Standard of 21 September 1936 has a short announcement: 

Woman's Soviet Lecture: Mrs.Fay King Goldie, well-known as a contributor to South African periodicals, will lecture on Russia (from which country she has just returned to South Africa), in the Cathedral Hall, Cape Town, to-day.

The same paper (of 15 August 1939) has her as a speaker at a farewell dinner - where she is given as "Mrs. Fay King Goldie, President of the Liberal Study Group". In 1960 the South African Writers’ Circle was founded by Fay King Goldie and 13 other writers, initially meeting at London House in Smith Street (now Anton Lembede Street) and were then called the Durban Writers’ Circle. The name change occurred in 1985 and continues to today.The South African Writers' Circle sponsor a "Fay Goldie Award for General Success in the World of Publishing" The writing circle publish a newsletter and an obituary is listed in 1993, by Honor Rorvik.

Fay (King) Goldie (1903-1993) BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Red Reflections. (A South African's candid impressions of Soviet Russia.). Durban: Knox Printing & Publishing Co, [1938?]
• The Lost City. Bognor Regis : John Crewther, [1942]
• Behind the Enemy's Lines (A Russian Adventure for Boys) Bournemouth:John Crowther, 1944
• Foot-Loose in the Soviet Union,  [London] : Valiant Publications, 1947.
• The Zoo Mystery. (Illustrated by William Stobbs). London: Frederick Muller, 1948.
• Diamonds in Springbok Valley. (Illustrated by Tony Weare) London: Ginn & Co, 1950.
• Bushveld Adventure. (Illustrated by Tony Weare). London: Ginn & Co, 1950.
• Fanyana the Brave. London: Epworth Press, 1950.
• A Practical Guide to Film Careers. London: Findon Publications, [1950]
• The Deserted City. London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1951.
• Diamonds In Springbok Valley London: Ginn and Company, 1952 
  
• Rustlers at the Bar-Two Ranch London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1952.
• Friends of the Bushveld. (Illustrated from drawings by Grace Huxtable). London: Jonathan Cape, 1954.
• An Ear of Wheat, and other tales of the Outeniquas. [Johannesburg]: Central News Agency, [1955]
• Island of Happy Exiles London: Dobson Books Ltd, 1961
• Lost City of Kalahari. The Farini story and reports on other expeditions. Cape Town; Amsterdam: A. A. Balkema, 1963.
• The Golden Bird. Durban: Garnet Publications, [1964]
• Ostrich country. Cape Town: Books of Africa, 1968.
• Zulu boy. (illustrated by Tessa Beaver). London: Macmillan, 1968.
• River of gold (illustrated by William Papas). London: Oxford University Press, 1969.

Her writing appears in 

• Successful freelance journalism: a practical guide for writers. Cape Town ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1984.
• How to write stories and novels that sell [Malvern]: [Malvern Publishing], [c1986]
• The dark side of the moon (Short stories in English South African writers 1961-) Premier Publications, c1987.

 Other known articles - many more still to be found:

• "Europeans Walk Through Fire; a firewalking ceremony at the Umbilo Hindu Temple in Durban". Wide World Magazine, [Month unknown] 1928.
• "Mine Boy" [Details unknown] Short Story [c. 1938]
  
• "'Macbeth' infused with Zulu flavoring", The Christian Science Monitor, 30 November 1971

In a reference to a letter (dated 4 April 1964) addressed to Mary Sutherland, (of "Woman's Journal", London), we learn Goldie submitted two short stories "Bird in the hand" and "Reward from the sea":I couldn't find any reference to them online so don't know if they were accepted for publication in the UK.

HIGHVELD MYSTERY by Richard Burns (Blackie, 1952)

 

Cover

“And it's this mystery we've got to try and solve”
Frontispiece for p.5

 

He found a group of natives gathered at the foot of the steps
Page 11 for p.12

 

Suddenly there came the loud, angry barking of the sentry baboon
Page 30 for p.31

Huddled in the farthest corner of the cave was a small brown body
Page 49 for p.31

The story concerns three children on a South African farm and a mystery. Their Dad's friend has been accused of murder after finding out he has been embezzled by a Mr. Long and making threats against him. The body has not been found but the children set out to find the truth. Following a similar theme to "Deserted City" above, a child's disappearance is the starting point and the native fear of a hill as bewitched - similar to the other story. The hill is also where a tribe of baboons live who destroy crops and therefore a hunt is on despite the native fears. One of the boys finds a hidden spot and a cave and the skeleton of a white man and a snake - which must have been the cause of the man's death whilst hiding. Then the whimpers of a child catch Dick's ears and it turns out to be Ncobo's son with an injured leg.

Richard Burns, 1904-1993.

Interestingly despite reassurances by the British Library (and a single reference by a relative saying that Fay wrote under a man's name), I can't find much more on the pseudonym Richard Burns - not to be confused with a science-fiction author.

• The Broadvlei Mystery. An adventure story for boys. Bognor Regis : John Crowther, [1943]
• Highveld Mystery London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1952.

I'm very curious why Blackie would take on Fay Goldie twice in the same series with different names! This is the only story in the series by "Richard Burns" too!