Any of Phyllis Paul's Preternatural Novels in Your Local Library?

[Danny McG]

I can confirm there are NONE in Whitehaven libraries

 

[Extollager]

Thank you for checking!

 

[Danny McG]

I was in this afternoon and talked one of librarians into searching their system.
It wasn't planned, I was waiting for someone so I used the free wifi to look here on Book Search to pass the time.
Then I thought "Ah, Phyllis Paul, go for it!"

 

[Extollager]

Well, I have just photocopied for my own use The Lion of Cooling Bay from the Library of Congress. And that, it seems, is the final Paul novel that I can get through the university's interlibrary loan department. I have eight of the eleven novels, most of them photocopies. It looks doubtful that I'll get to read The Children Triumphant (her second-published and possibly, from what I've seen, least good novel), Camilla, and An Invisible Darkness (her final novel).

I hope British Chrons people will check their local libraries for Paul novels. Not that I mean to ask anyone to photocopy a book for me, should one of the three I need show up. I'm curious about what Paul work might be available. Over half of her books didn't have US publication at all (6 of the 11).

 

[Extollager]

It turned out that I was able to get hold of an interlibrary loan copy of Camilla after all, with a $15 interlibrary loan fee (plus $7.20 to photocopy). And, to my delight, it looks like I can get the two remaining Paul novels I need, The Children Triumphant (for about $25 from a library in New Zealand!) and An Invisible Darkness (for about $20 from another library). Photocopying each will cost me about $7-8 per book.

My attempts to find out what's happened to Paul's books' copyrights have run into the sand. The university library director got involved in the effort and apparently didn't find out anything.

 

[Parson]

Hey, good for you @Extollager

 

[Danny McG]

Does that mean you'll have copies of all her books then?
I've been looking her up online and she's sort of forgotten and faded out of history

 

[Extollager]

Yes, that's right: I'll have photocopies of nine of the novels, and Lancer paperbacks of the remaining two. It'll be interesting to figure up what they all cost me. But having read five of them so far, I think the expense will be worth it to me.

 

[Extollager]

Just paid $20 interlibrary loan plus $9.60 for photocopying Phyllis Paul's final novel, An Invisible Darkness. The copy came from the library of the Boston Athenæum, and, if I'm going to spend much money, you can bet I'm going to use the ligature æsc.

Someone who has read it, comments here:

An Invisible Darkness by Phyllis Paul

One to go, and that will be the most expensive one, her second (The Children Triumphant), which, along with her first, Paul seems eventually to have disavowed.

 

[Extollager]

I'm reactivating this thread in case anyone has any findings to report.

Please go here to discuss Paul and her novels, rather than their availability:

Phyllis Paul: Twice Lost, Pulled Down, Invisible Darkness, A Little Treachery, more

Phyllis Paul (1903-1973) is, at this time, necessarily a "cult novelist" in that nearly all of her books are so hard to get hold of that those who have read more than one of them and want to talk about their reading will find few others who have read more than one. One or two of her novels...

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