WILLIAM SANSOM

Abstract

i. Introduction-William Sansom, born in 1912 in London, made his debut on the British literary stage in his 3oth year, when he began contributing Kafkaesque short stories to leading literary magazines in London. Subsequently, his work became wider in range, richer in content. His chief qualities as a writer may be summarized as follows: (a) a knack for description that reflects a delicate sensibility and acute observation; (b) a cinema-like technique by which he ties his colourful settings and convincing realistic characters together with the genius of a born story-teller, (c) a deep understanding of human behaviour as represented particularly by his skilful portrayal of individuals at moments of crisis. ii. Biographical notes and list of principal works. iii. Comments on external facts influencing Sansom's writing-his liking for travel, his service as a fireman, his taste for music, etc. iv, v, vi. Detailed explanation, with examples, of the three features mentioned above (i). vii. Souvenirs of the author's personal contact with Sansom. viii. Conclusion-Though Sansom is at his best in grasping the human mind caught in crisis, he is not an eccentric type of writer; he is, on the whole, an orthodox, a traditional novelist who makes use of all of life with his sound judgment. His writing reflects, what non-English readers might call, an "English" quality-a certain reasonable common sense attitude. Sansom's criticism of Poe's style-"constant drumming" and "over-decoration"-may, to some extent, be true of his own; but, if he goes on deepening his insight into human nature and does not waste his rich talent, he is sure to become one of the British classic writers.