 His interests:
John was a voracious reader from the time when he was taught by his older sisters before starting school until his eyesight deteriorated near the end of his life.
By the time he was at secondary school he was reading adventure stories - R L Stevenson, H Rider Haggard,
H de Vere Stackpole (of which his mother did not approve), Alexander Dumas - especially The Count of Monte Cristo which he loved, science fiction -
H G Wells, Jules Verne and a variety of school stories.
At home he spent much of his time reading. He was intrigued by Lewis Carrol's Alice stories which often featured in his novels. Not long before he died he was delighted when his grand-daughter took the part of the Queen of Hearts in a school production of Alice.
The books in his library gave a good indication of his interests. In his later years there were sections on history (world, national and local), philosophy, psychology, medicine, zoology, physics, mankind, evolution, biography, religion and the arts, together with many reference books and a large variety of novels.
As a geophysicist I was particularly aware of his interest in physics, which he studied as a subsidiary subject during his first year at university. He continued to read about advances in physics for the rest of his life and always had questions for me on my visits home, not all of which I could answer to his satisfaction. My own interest in the subject stemmed from conversations with him when we lived at Reskadinnick (near Camborne), usually when walking home on clear nights talking about the stars.
 What was he like?
John was a private man, perhaps seen by some as not very sociable in that he was not keen on small talk. However amongst a group of friends such as those that used to meet at Frank and Stella's cottage he was happy and in his element.
He enjoyed his time at Oxford in spite of the worries over exams and how to support his family : he found the people he met there stimulating. He also got on well with almost everyone he met through the books, whether publishers, television producers or readers.
He had a clear moral code which he lived by and had little time for those who did not have similar standards. His two sons were very strictly brought up, which contrasted with his own childhood when he acknowledged that he was spoilt by his older sisters. In later years he mellowed considerably, though his grandchildren all have strong recollections of being shouted at when they stepped out of line.
The success of his novels provided him with a great boost which he much enjoyed. He had thought about writing for publication for many years but as far as is known never submitted anything until A Taste of Power.
Although he did not particularly welcome it , he regarded the public relations duties which went with his success as part of the job and conscientiously attended book signings, gave talks and interviews and responded at length to phone calls and letters as long as he was able to.
When he learned of the planned television adaptations of the books he was hoping for something comparable to the 1960's Maigret films or the Inspector Morse series on ITV. He knew the author of the Morse books, Colin Dexter whom he had met some years before, who had told him that he thought Wycliffe could make good television. In the event he was somewhat disappointed with the result, though delighted with the success of the series and its effect on book sales.
© Alan Burley
|
