Gerald Kersh

Gerald Kersh was a British writer. Born in 1911, he began to write at the age of 8. After leaving school he worked as, amongst other things, a cinema manager, bodyguard, debt collector, fish & chip cook, travelling salesman, French teacher and all-in-wrestler whilst attempting to 'make it' as a writer.

Related Topics:
British - 1911

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He finally managed to get his first novel Jews Without Jehovah published in 1934 but in this autobiographical tale of growing up poor and Jewish he had not sufficiently concealed the identities of some of the characters and a member of his family sued for libel: as a result the book was quickly withdrawn. He had more luck with Night and the City which was published in 1938 and has been filmed twice, most notably with Richard Widmark in 1950 although there is also a 1992 version with Robert de Niro in the title role. This story of a tough London gangster on the make shows that Kersh was a master in terms of his knowledge of the London underworld.

Related Topics:
1934 - 1938 - Richard Widmark - 1950 - 1992 - Robert de Niro

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Kersh was drafted into the army during the war, and ended up writing for the Army Film Unit. Despite apparently 'deserting' Kersh ended up in France during the liberation where he discovered that many of his French relatives had ended up in Hitler's extermination camps. After the war, Kersh continued to enjoy commercial success, mainly because of his short stories. However from about the mid 1950s onwards he started to suffer from poor health, and he also ran into money troubles (specifically relating to his failure to pay income tax). However Kersh continued to publish novels and stories, some of which were commercially and critically successful.

Related Topics:
Extermination camps - Short stories - 1950

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After his death in 1968 Kersh became deeply unfashionable and his work was almost completely forgotten. However in recent years there have been signs of a revival: in many ways he pioneered the British gangster story, which has become fashionable again with films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (directed by Guy Ritchie). Harlan Ellison is a huge fan of Kersh.

Related Topics:
1968 - Gangster - Guy Ritchie - Harlan Ellison

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