West O’ The Lizard

I had the great pleasure to publish this book to celebrate the 90th birthday of my dear friend, Andrew Bell in the summer of 2024.

First published by the Lancashire Daily Post in serial form in 1930, it was written by Andrew’s late mother. West o’ the Lizard pre-dates Daphne du Maurier’s Jamaica Inn by six years, and Winston Graham’s Poldark series by 15 years. This wonderful pre-cursor of tales of smugglers and wreckers is set along the wild and rugged coastline of Cornwall, Britain’s most westerly county.

The characters zing off the page, and the author has beautifully caught the sound and intonation of the Cornish accent. There’s something of an Errol Flynn about the main character, but the storyline doesn’t shy away from some grim truths either.

A remarkable discovery that deserves wider recognition.