Aylmer Hall

Aylmer Hall was the pen name of Norah Eleanor Lyle Cummins[1] (born 24 April 1914).[2] She was the author of adventure stories for children written in the 1950s and 1960s. Her book The Tyrant King - A London Adventure was published by London Transport in 1967 with illustrations by Peter Roberson. The book inspired the film of the same name, directed by Mike Hodges.[3]

Aylmer Hall
Born
Norah Eleanor Lyle Cummins

(1914-04-24)24 April 1914
Died14 June 1987(1987-06-14) (aged 73)
NationalityBritish
Occupationauthor
Spouse(s)Robert Aylmer Hall

Biography

Hall was educated at St. Hugh's College, Oxford University where she earned a B.A. Honours in modern languages in 1935.[4] She worked as an assistant secretary in 1936, and then went on to become a librarian at the Royal Institute of International Affairs from 1937 to 1939.[4] From 1939 to 1940, she worked as a press librarian in the Ministry of Information.[4] Hall was married to Robert Aylmer Hall on 8 October 1938.[2] In addition to being a writer, Hall was also a historian.[5]

Work

The Daily Herald in Chicago wrote that The Search for Lancelot's Sword (1960) is a "well told mystery story."[6] Kirkus Reviews wrote that her book about 1765 Ireland, Beware of Moonlight (1970) to have stereotyped characters and was "rambling, complicated and filled with hackneyed class-conscious poses."[7] Myles McDowell puts many of Hall's books into the "Boys' Own" era, and writes that these can seem dated to modern readers.[4]

Works

Hall wrote ten books, most of them historical adventures, though some had contemporary settings.

  • The Mystery of Torland Manor (1952)
  • The Admiral's Secret (1953)
  • The K.F. Conspiracy (1955)
  • The Sword of Glendower (1960) or The Search for Lancelot's Sword
  • The Devilish Plot (1965)
  • The Marked Man (1967)
  • The Tyrant King (1967)
  • Colonel Bull's Inheritance (1968)
  • Beware of Moonlight (1969 or 70)
  • The Minstrel Boy (1970)

References
  1. Adrian Room (1 July 2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-7864-5763-2.
  2. "Norah Eleanor Lyle Cummins". The Peerage. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  3. "The Tyrant King". Network. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  4. McDowell, Myles (1995). Berger, Laura Standley (ed.). Twentieth Century Children's Writers. St. James Press. pp. 426–427. ISBN 1558621776.
  5. The Writers Directory 1980-82. The Macmillan Press, Ltd. 1979. p. 512. ISBN 9781349036523.
  6. Ainslie, Betty (21 March 1963). "Library Has Mysteries for Young Readers, Too". The Daily Herald. Retrieved 20 September 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Beware of Moonlight". Kirkus Reviews. 1 October 1970. Retrieved 20 September 2016.


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