David Wheldon’s 1983 novel The Viaduct was reissued by Valancourt in the USA in November.
Wheldon was a writer and medical doctor who also published research into treatments of Multiple Sclerosis. He died in January 2021.
This reissue has been a long time coming. When first published in 1983 the novel won the Triple First Award judged by Graham Greene and William Trevor. It was published in the UK and the USA and reviewers compared it to the works of Franz Kafka and Samuel Beckett. His next novel also attracted high praise, and will also soon be reissued by Valancourt.
But his subsequent books failed to gain wide attention and in fact, to judge by Google ranking, up until recently his name was better associated with antibiotic treatments of Multiple Sclerosis.
The reissue of The Viaduct was reviewed on Nov 21st by the Times Literary Supplement .
This allegory is back to haunt another generation.
I had exchanged emails with David Wheldon over a number of years and was honoured to be asked by Valancourt to write the introduction to this reissue of The Viaduct.
Valancourt The Viaduct reissue
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Irish Times Q+A