Max Catto


Maxwell Jeffrey Catto was born Mark Finkell in Manchester, England and was an English playwright and novelist.

Writing career

Catto wrote adventure novels and dramas for more than four decades and also wrote under the pseudonym Simon Kent. Ten of his works were adapted for film, the most notable of which was the novel The Killing Frost, which became Carol Reed's 1956 film Trapeze. Although he was a holder of a degree in electrical engineering from Manchester University, Catto began writing novels and plays in the late 1930s. After a stint in the Royal Air Force during World War II, Catto returned to writing fiction. Exotic settings and fast-paced action were the trademarks of his novels, defying categorization into any one genre, instead blending elements of many popular literary styles. Much of his work has been translated into other languages.

Works

Novels under his own name

River Junk – Arthur Barker, 1937The Hairy Man – M. Secker, 1939Ginger Charley – M. Secker, 1939The Flanagan Boy – Harrap, 1949 The Killing Frost – Heinemann, 1950 The Sickle – Heinemann, 1952The Mummers – Heinemann, 1953A Prize of Gold – Heinemann, 1953 Gold In The Sky – Heinemann, 1956, Morrow, 1958The Devil at Four O'Clock – Heinemann, 1958, Morrow, 1959 The Melody Of Sex – Heinemann, 1959, Morrow, 1960Mister Moses – Morrow, 1961 D-Day In Paradise – Heinemann, 1963, Morrow, 1964The Tiger In The Bed – Morrow, 1963I Have Friends In Heaven – Heinemann, 1965, Little, Brown, 1966Love From Venus – Heinemann, 1965Bird On The Wing – Heinemann, 1966The Banana Men – Simon & Schuster, 1967Murphy's War – Simon & Schuster, 1969 King Oil – Simon & Schuster, 1970The Fattest Bank In New Orleans – Heinemann, 1971Sam Casanova – Heinemann, 1973, Signet, 1977Mister Midas – M. Joseph, 1976The Empty Tiger – St. Martin's, 1977

Novels under the pseudonym Simon Kent

Fleur-de-Lys Court – Heinemann, 1950For The Love Of Doc – Heinemann, 1951 A Hill in Korea – Hutchinson, 1953 Fire Down Below – Hutchinson, 1954 Ferry to Hong Kong – Hutchinson, 1957 The Lions At The Kill – Hutchinson, 1959 Charlie Gallagher My Love! – Hutchinson, 1960, Macmillan, 1961

Plays

French Salad, 1934Green Waters, 1936They Walk Alone, 1938Punch without Judy, 1939