Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997)
Douglas, Norman
Tagged: Author.
Working name of expatriate UK writer George Norman Douglass (1868-1952). A refugee from Anglo-Saxon puritanism long resident in Capri, he was a notable travel writer and produced two books on aphrodisiacs. His first fantasy, written in 1899, was Nerinda (in Unprofessional Tales coll 1901 as by Normyx; 1929), set in Pompeii, a delusional fantasy (see Delusion) about an enigmatic Femme Fatale. Unprofessional Tales also includes "Elfwater" (vt "An Unnatural Feud" 1908 US), while Experiments (coll 1925) includes the Edgar Allan Poe-esque "Nocturne" and "Queer!".
Douglas's tongue-in-cheek novels all celebrate Decadent mores (see Decadence) in a blithely cavalier fashion. South Wind (1917) describes the healthy paganism of the inhabitants of Nepenthe (a lightly disguised Capri). The Epicurean parable They Went (1920) employs muted supernaturalism in its deft reworking of the legend of Lyonesse (see Imaginary Lands). In the Beginning (1927) is a full-blooded fantasy featuring the allegorical adventures of a lusty demigod in the days before the All-Father inflicted morals upon mankind. [BS]
George Norman Douglass
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