Name John Gloag | Role Writer | |
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Died 1981, London, United Kingdom Books Short Dictionary of Furniture, Time - taste and furniture, English Furniture, Men and buildings, British furniture makers | ||
John Gloag (10 August 1896 - 17 July 1981) was an English writer in the fields of furniture design and architecture. Gloag also wrote science fiction novels. Gloag served with the Welsh Guards during the First World War, and was invalided home after suffering gas poisoning.
Contents
Writings on design
Artifex, or the Future of Craftsmanship (1926), part of the To-day and To-morrow series, was a pamphlet by Gloag that discussed the relationship between artistic craftmanship and mass production.
Gloag's A Short Dictionary of Furniture (1969) was a reference book covering the history and types of furniture from the tenth century to the 1960s.
Novels
Gloag's first science fiction novel, Tomorrow's Yesterday, (1932) was inspired by the work of H.G. Wells and Gloag's friend Olaf Stapledon. Tomorrow's Yesterday is a satire that depicts a race of cat people from the distant future observing human society. In The New Pleasure (1933) a powder that greatly increases the sense of smell causes a social upheaval. Winter's Youth (1934) revolves around a longevity technology, which falls into the hands of a corrupt politician, with disastrous social consequences. In Manna (1940) a journalist discovers a plan to develop a fungus that could end world hunger. 99% (1944) is about an experiment to give humans access to their race memory.
Later in his career Gloag wrote historical fantasy novels; Caesar of the Narrow Seas (1969), The Eagles Depart (1973) and Artorius Rex (1977).Artorius Rex focuses on King Arthur and Sir Kay.