The Life and Death of a Nearly Man
During a recent research trip to Dorset, I unearthed this gem at a local library (apologies for the reproduction, but the microfiche was slightly damaged). The obituary originally ran in the Dorset Evening Echo and was then syndicated for those nationals who deemed Arthur’s life and passing worthy of comment.
It’s humbling to note the brief mention of The Hayseed Chronicles, described here as ‘too dark and uncompromising to achieve success’, for Arthur was never to see how just many lives his extraordinary books touched.
January 13, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Thanks so much for putting this up! it’s sad that Arthur never knew how successful his books became. I know he probably didn’t write them for that reason but I’m sure he’d have been touched to see just how many people identified with Luke and his battles with Mr Toppit.
May 1, 2009 at 12:51 pm
[...] importantly April 1981 also saw the end of children’s author Arthur Hayman’s life, as he was knocked down and out of this world by a cement mixer truck on the streets of [...]
July 4, 2009 at 9:55 pm
I have to say, there is one big marketing genius out there!