Whispering City

The latest title in Montreal publisher Vehicule Press's Ricochet imprint has just been published.

Whispering City was first published in 1947 as a paperback original by Global Publishing Company in Pickering, Ontario, a city just east of Toronto. The publisher was Horace Brown who was also the author. It is a novelization of a movie which takes place in Quebec City that was released in both French and English. 

The new edition has an introduction by series editor Brian Busby and the original foreword by the author. Unable to be reproduced are three photos from the movie on the inside covers and back cover. Also unseen is a "Camera Quiz" from the original edition. This is a set of 12 photos from the movie with captions and the reader is invited to put them in their correct order after reading the book.

Global Publishing -1947

Global Publishing - back

Vehicule Press - 2023

Vehicule Press - back

Canadian Authors Part IV - Horace Brown

For an obscure Canadian author Horace Brown has had more than his share of posts. The latest is from The Dusty Bookcase discussing one of Mr Brown's books. In earlier posts here and here I mention two more of his books. The last of his books that I'm aware of was published in 1946 under a pseudonym by Five Star Mysteries, Inc. of New York. The book is a small digest.

The dedication provides a hint that the author was not American: "To Harry A. Newman K(ing's). C(ounsel)., the best landlord an author ever had."

Five Star Mystery 45

Five Star Mystery 45 back

Global Publishing Company Part I

Global Publishing Company managed to publish a handful of mass market paperbacks circa 1947 from Pickering, Ontario, a city just east of Toronto. The publisher was Horace Brown who I'll talk about in another post. One of the three books below is written by Brown as a paperback original - a novelization of a movie Whispering City. The book has a 1947 copyright date. The movie takes place in Quebec City and was released in both French and English. It is available on DVD.

The other two books are classics published to tie into recent movie adaptations. There are two versions of Great Expectations - one with a heavy card cover and one with a light paper cover. Also the spine printing is in different colours. Henry V has the heavy card cover. Great Expectations is described as "the shorter edition" - whatever that means other than someone has abridged the book.