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A social comedy by C. John Holcombe
Nicholas's affair with the captivating Clare is not progressing well.
In fact it's not progressing at all, despite a summer holiday together
in Italy where they do all that could be expected of a well-bred and
cultivated couple: tour around, visit galleries and churches, follow
up invitations and dine out in romantic settings. Back home in England,
Nicholas is even more perplexed when Clare takes up with a young socialite
who dabbles in banking. What is the budding art historian to do? An
affectionate look at the antics and follies of the English upper-middle
classes — a sort of Three Weddings and A Funeral in verse.
Free.
An historical romance by C. John Holcombe
Shuja Khan and his Toba princess are fictions rooted in historical
fact. When the story opens in 1290 (690 A.H.), the Mongol conquests
initiated by Genghiz Khan have been extended and consolidated by his
extensive family. Iran and the Middle East are ruled by the Ilkhans,
descendants of Genghiz's grandson Hulegu. China is ruled by Genghiz's
grandson Qubilai (Coleridge's Kubla Khan), founder of the Yuan Dynasty
and nominally Great Khan (Qaghan). The northern part of central Asia
is occupied by the Golden Horde, and the southern part by the Chaghatayids.
Local wars are common, and neither the Golden Horde nor the Chaghatayids
pay much attention to the Chinese ruler. Free.
A tale of mediaeval India by C. John Holcombe
Like Fitzgerald's Rubaiyat, the fictional story of Satyavati derives
from many sources — in this case the popular romances of pre-Mogul
India. The speaker is Hushang ibn Dilawar, ruler of the small sultanate
of Malwa in what is now Madhya Pradesh in north-central India. Hushang
introduced a policy of religious toleration, encouraged sufis and Islamic
clerics to settle in the kingdom, and employed many Rajput (Hindu) soldiers
in his army. India has many poems telling the love of Islamic rulers
for Hindu princesses, most of them ending badly. Hushang's misfortunes
stem from his character - his distrust of Satyavati's brother, whose
death he engineers, and his attack on the stronghold of Satyavati's
family. Free.
A Novel in Verse by C. John Holcombe
Like a contemporary Moll Flanders, the beautiful Mai Ying progresses
from Bangkok peepshow performer to bar-girl, unpaid British housemaid,
escort hostess to finally mistress and soon-to-be wife of a wealthy
industrialist. In this comedy of manners, Mai Ying is the poorly-educated
but knowing student of male hypocrisy — until she falls for the
industrialist's son and enjoys the raptures of physical possession that
she has supplied to men but not tasted before. Mai Ying is a survivor,
the laughing and rapacious sorcerer, and she returns to Thailand not
a whit restrained or sadder for her adventures in the land of farangs.
A long poem: free.
A Venetian tale in verse by C. John Holcombe
Venice at the height of her glory, and celebrated above all in the
canvases of Veronese. But what has happened to that altarpiece commissioned
from him, the one modelled on a child he had of the courtesan Antonia
Schiavoni? Ten years later it has not been delivered. The new abbess
calls him to account, and in the aged painter makes various excuses
— until he must meet the courtesan and their daughter again, when
he sees his life as great gifts squandered. A sadder man returns to
the small church of San Sebastiano, where his canvases show him what
he was once had the power to achieve. A long poem: free.
A political satire by C. John Holcombe
In this tale for our times, where the Civil Service has become a political
machine, an ambitious young protégé of Tony Blair's finesses
the concept of 'spin' and does his master's bidding through the Whitehall
corridors of power. In this he is joined by his secretary, Fiona, a
beautiful woman out of our hero's social league but one who knows advantage
when she sees it. Only one obstacle stands in the way of our hero's
climb to power, the wily Permanent Secretary, and Sir Roderick is not
a loyal Blairite, though too astute to say so. He will have to go, decides
our hero, but how? A long poem with quotable comments: fifty stanzas.
Free.
A modern pastoral by C. John Holcombe
A depiction of the east Anglian countryside in her various moods and
seasons, but also a tale of commercial adventure as young Robbie and
his sweetheart Meg struggle to make a go of their butterfly farm in
the depths of an abandoned market-gardening estate. Robbie is an oddball
character and Meg is no beauty queen, but they find affection for each
other in shared discomfort and hard work about their little farm. In
looking back over a half century, Robbie finds life just as he thought
it would be, part of a tradition coloured by individual hopes and disappointments
and soldierings on. An honest view of contempory aspirations. A poem
of fifty stanzas. Free.
A love poem by C. John Holcombe
All writers have their jealous but inconstant muses, and here the
mocking spirit flits across the English countryside and through the
generations of a family that traces itself to holdings in the west country
long before the Normans came. In this modern version of the English
pastoral the same themes are repeated: the constant longing for place,
the reference to what should have been, the evocation of someone dead
who still serves as emissary to a world that lies everywhere around
us, if we had the humility and sense of history to see it. An evocative
portrayal of past generations. Free.
Historical portrait of a country by C. John Holcombe
Chile is a land of contrasts, from the high deserts of the north through
the pleasant farmlands of the centre to the forested mountains and glaciers
of the south. Even more varied have been the political experiments:
authoritarian central government, libertarian reform, coups, right-wing,
socialist and communist administrations, militrary rule and currently
a democracy with a free market economy. All these are reflected in this
snapshot tour of the country that draws out the relevance of history
and customs in sharp sketches of the present day scene. One hundred
poems in a free-verse form, introduced by a balanced essay on Chile's
history. Free.
A short story in verse by C. John Holcombe
The whole lot of them were chancers, good-natured philanderers who
take up various trades in London but who never settle, being always
attracted to women and their mysterious ways. But Charlie Tranter does
settle, and balances family life with innumerable affairs, until he
gets into one scrape too many. He is away on the usual fling when his
wife and young kiddie perish in a house blaze. The local press go to
town on the episode, and Tranter loses his job. But not for long. Irrepressible
as ever, he is soon a rep travelling in ladies underwear, and the pattern
of conquests begins again over the southern counties of England. Free.
A life in fifty chapters C. John Holcombe
Fifty linked poems written in stress metre that generates a drumbeat
measure that gradually drowns out the inner emotions as Caesar evolves
into a public person. An unexpurgated version where Rome is very different
from out Hollywood versions. Despite all that we have gained from it
in law, administration and language, Republican Rome lacked Greek refinement
or Christian caritas, and its brutality was exacerbated by increasing
civil wars. Free. po
A Collection of lyrics by C. John Holcombe
An old-fashioned book of poetry: thirty poems on love in its various
aspects and manifestations. Some are simple and faux-naif, little more
than nursery rhymes. Others are more demanding and extended. Many of
the poems follow strict and/or complex rhyme schemes, and all are metrical.
Indeed this short collection demonstrates what Modernism denies, that
traditional poetry may create pieces of memorable beauty while not shunning
contemporary issues and themes. A free e-book
in pdf format.
A Short Story in Verse by C. John Holcombe
An A countryside romance set in the Berkshire Downlands. A lawyer's
son falls for the daughter of a local landowner, and goes abroad to
earn the money to set himself up in farming. She is destined elsewhere,
however, and, though returning his feelings, the girl eventually marries
into her own class. Not a comment on social manners so much a depiction
of early love and its steadying and warming influence on the young man's
later marriage and successful farming. Life as it still is in the rural
communities of England, with its stress on the manners appropriate to
class, and the long traditions that reach back over the centuries. A
free e-book in pdf format.
A Short Story in Verse by C. John Holcombe
A plain tale from the Indian hills. George Phelan follows in his father's
footsteps to India, via the usual route of the English ruling classes:
public school, Oxford and the India Office. His accomplishments mark
him off from the normal run, but he's also sensitive enough to see through
the hypocrisies of the English Raj and want something more authentic
and helpful to the subcontinent. His father's ideal of public service
clashes with the sensual nature of Indian life, and he is drawn to local
girls and frank eroticism of Tamil literature. He disciplines and remakes
himself as an agricultural specialist, but the old longings keep him
from following the expected route of expatriate marriage and local governance.
A free e-book in pdf format.po
A Children's Story by C. John Holcombe
Russia's history of the last hundred years set out as a cautionary
children's story. Here are the fabulous excesses of czarist rule, the
growth of the Bolshevik party and the iron rule of Stalin — shot
through with vignettes of rural life, the horrors of war and descriptions
of contemporary Soviet towns. Into this story are woven the elements
of Russia's history from earliest times, its literature and rich vein
of music and painting. Though a terrible story, which grows only more
heartless as the children are taken through their Soviet catechism,
the poem is a celebration of mankind's ability to survive even the worst
of horrors, and ends on a modestly optimistic note. A
free e-book in pdf format.
Poems on Travel by C. John Holcombe
The fifty-five poems take the reader through various settings in London
and southern England to Iran and north Africa, to south-east Asia and
Oceania, back to Europe and thence to Latin America. There are poems
set in academia and military establishments, in high society and among
ordinary folk, in cafés, nightclubs, churches, hospitals on the
streets of tropical cities, on desert roads and the lush jungles of
Indonesia. Anyone who enjoys the romance of travel will like these poems,
which exhibit an unusually wide range of style, from free verse to tightly
rhymed forms, all characterize by scrupulous craftsmanship and a keen
ear for the possibilities of English metre. A
free e-book in pdf format.
A Short Story in Verse by C. John Holcombe
When his old climbing partner is killed on attempting a solo climb
on the same mountain, Davie resolves to undertake a solo climb himself,
against good mountaineering practice and Deborah's pleadings to put
the family first. Davie succeeds in the climb, but Deborah never forgives
him for risking their future happiness. The two gradually drift apart,
and Davie comes to see why climbing is so important to him, more than
anything else in the world. In this extended poem of fifty stanzas,
the mountain becomes a metaphor for inward determination, exemplifying
that need so many sportsmen feel for an integration of body and mind,
where outward challenges serve to discipline the body and make it fully
responsive to its psychological needs. A
free e-book in pdf format.
A Short Story in Verse by C. John Holcombe
A contemporary morality tale in which an amateur singer falls for
a another member of the choir, until the affair is brought to an end
by a viral infection that leaves him partially deaf in both ears. A
punishment for sinning against his wedding vows? So it seems to our
protagonist, who sees a religious significance to events. The story
is the simplest, but the life-altering experience of love is described
through the medium of music, most particularly the appeal of the human
voice, which can range from ecstasy and dark despair. A
free e-book in pdf format.
Occasional Light Verse: 2008-9 by C. John Holcombe
Nothing profound, but very varied in their themes, these fifty poems
document the social attitudes of the country, the local customs, the
passing seasons in the city, and a little of the country's history as
it emerged from the Marxist experiments of Allende, through the military
dictatorship, to today's centre-left government of Michelle Bachelet.
It's simply a personal record, the thoughts that came to mind in an
hour or so off duty as their writer thought back on the events of the
week. A free e-book in pdf format.
A sonnet Sequence by C. John Holcombe
The Great War marked the collapse of the old world order, and the
beginning of the modern state. Much of what we take for granted grew
out of the bloodbath of those years, and we cannot understand ourselves
unless we see modernism as a reaction to its horrors. Lost irretrievably
in five short years was a belief in social norms, in the rule of reason,
and the fundamental decency of human nature. War's blunders and nightmares
have continued to haunt us, giving an air of unreality to our high-tech
conflicts, our art-forms, and our failing political systems. A
free e-book in pdf format.
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