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172:, which is considered Sommerfield's most important work. The novel was published by the Communist Party's publishing house, and describes a few days in the lives of protagonist James Seton and various other people around London leading up to a general strike and a political breakthrough for Communism in Britain.
142:. He appears to have joined the Communist Party in the early 1930s and it was a major part of his life for the following quarter-of-a-century. He wrote columns for several Communist periodicals, including the
210:
called the memoir a "piece of sentimental tripe", while others praised it and called
Sommerfield "an excellent writer". The book was dedicated to Cornford, who was killed in Spain in December 1936.
837:
233:. He wrote a short story for this purpose instead which was published cheaply as a pamphlet and sold in tens of thousands. Sommerfield was also active in the
284:
Sommerfield married twice and had a son, Peter, by his first wife. After the war, he lived with his second wife, the artist and illustrator Molly Moss, in
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Throughout the war and in the following decade, Sommerfield continued to write for
Communist and progressive periodicals and literary journals, including
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195:. This wartime service in Asia with the RAF provided the inspiration for some of his best short stories, collected after the war as
187:. After returning he discovered that he had been reported dead. During World War II he served as an aircraft support mechanic in
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102:(25 June 1908 – 13 August 1991) was a British writer and left-wing activist known for his influential novel
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229:, published in 1939. The Communist Party asked Sommerfield to write a manual about how to organise a
106:, which fictionalised a Communist upheaval in 1930s London. Sommerfield volunteered to fight in the
272:(1960) was a novel about a young working class couple struggling to make their own way in post-war
759:. Issue 21 of Studies in Comparative Literature Series. Texas Tech University Press. p. 21.
214:, a close friend of Sommerfield's, counted him as an important influence, and dedicated his poem
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168:(1934) drew upon his experiences at sea and as a stage hand. 1936 saw the publication of
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and wrote one of the first combatant accounts of that conflict. He later served in the
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Website including a list, photos and extracts from the John
Sommerfield archive
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Croft, Andy (1983). "Returned
Volunteer, the novels of John Sommerfield".
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London
Fictions article on John Sommerfield's 'Trouble in Porter Street'
264:(1952) was a historical novel based on the life of the mathematician
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in north London before moving to
Oxfordshire where he died in 1991.
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Into the Heart of the Fire: The
British in the Spanish Civil War
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Some authors place
Sommerfield's death in 1936 because of this.
260:. He worked largely in documentary films. Among his writing,
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Born Jack Hugo
Sommerfield in West London, Sommerfield left
183:, fighting in the Spanish Civil War alongside his friend
523:(1). The Space Between Society and Monmouth University.
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Perhaps the most widely read of
Sommerfield's works was
148:, and was active in the Communist Party Writers' Group.
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project and took the lead in the research, largely in
134:, stage hand and merchant seaman before moving to the
160:(1930) – which was published in the United States as
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The Space Between: Literature and Culture 1914–1945
343:. Lawrence & Wishart republished London Books.
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804:Returned Volunteer, the novels of John Sommerfield
16:British writer and left-wing activist (1908–1991)
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367:. Lawrence & Wishart in UK and Knopf in US.
93:Writer, communist, veteran of spanish civil war
587:John King writes about Sommerfield's 'May Day'
572:Website on John Sommerfield's life and writing
206:, which was an account of his time in Spain.
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782:"London Fictions: Trouble in Porter Street"
723:. Stanford University Press. p. 333.
690:"A misplaced May Day dream for the masses"
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753:Pérez, Janet; Aycock, Wendell M. (2006).
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611:The Mass Observers: A History, 1937–1949
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399:The Pub and the People: a Worktown study
838:British people of the Spanish Civil War
614:. Oxford University Press. p. 23.
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510:"John Sommerfield and Mass-Observation"
37:1940s ink drawing of John Sommerfield
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756:The Spanish Civil War in Literature
216:Song About Madrid, Useful Any Time
179:, Sommerfield volunteered for the
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175:Shortly after the publication of
138:area, where he was active in the
130:at the age of 16 and worked as a
848:International Brigades personnel
780:Whitehead, Andrew (April 2013).
688:Jordison, Sam (29 April 2011).
322:. T. Nelson and sons, Limited.
156:Sommerfield's first two books,
806:. London Magazine. p. 66.
802:Croft, Andy (April–May 1983).
355:(republished in 1984 and 2010)
256:journal and was involved with
202:In 1937 Sommerfield published
1:
667:"May Day by John Sommerfield"
485:. London Magazine Editions.
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717:Hopkins, James K. (1998).
549:Whitehead, Andrew (2014).
479:Sommerfield, John (1978).
466:Sommerfield, John (1960).
453:Sommerfield, John (1956).
440:Sommerfield, John (1952).
419:Sommerfield, John (1947).
382:Sommerfield, John (1939).
361:Sommerfield, John (1937).
337:Sommerfield, John (1936).
316:Sommerfield, John (1934).
303:Sommerfield, John (1930).
396:Mass-Observation (1943).
128:University College School
30:
551:"John Sommerfield's Box"
385:Trouble in Porter Street
227:Trouble in Porter Street
162:The Death of Christopher
558:Literary London Journal
863:Proletarian literature
608:Hinton, James (2013).
243:The Pub and the People
181:International Brigades
132:newspaper delivery boy
508:Hubble, Nick (2012).
390:(republished in 1954)
853:English male writers
47:Jack Hugo Sommerfeld
402:. Victor Gollancz.
843:English communists
645:"John Sommerfield"
364:Volunteer in Spain
204:Volunteer in Spain
858:Communist writers
319:Behind the Scenes
276:in north London.
166:Behind the Scenes
108:Spanish Civil War
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71:(1991-08-13)
57:25 June 1908
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828:1991 deaths
823:1908 births
254:New Writing
231:rent strike
220:Julian Bell
218:to him and
82:Nationality
76:Oxfordshire
817:Categories
593:References
290:Gospel Oak
122:Early life
53:1908-06-25
529:1551-9309
431:a48003265
286:Hampstead
373:37031226
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268:, while
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189:Burma
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
