I've been working on cataloguing a big collection of James Hanley material recently. Hanley (1901-85) was an Anglo-Irish writer who lived most of his life in Wales. He wrote mainly about The Sea; bleak tales where, if the characters aren't killed quickly by their decision to go to sea, their spirits are washed away one wave at a time. Hanley has a loyal following and a few of his books are very hard to come by now. Resurrexit Dominus, about a Priest feeling the pinch of his celibacy vow; A House in the Valley by "Patric Shone", about a boy being raised by his in-laws and Emily - one I've yet to read and haven't a clue as to what it's about - are amongst the hardest to find.
During library school I worked on an addenda to Hanley's excellent bibliography by Linnea Gibbs; describing some of the items she was unable to find and adding a very few titles that had eluded her. I've renewed my interest in the addenda and may publish some of the items on this blog in near future. We'll see...
