Paul Capon
Paul Capon, born Harry Paul Capon in England in 1912, was a notable editor, administrator, and author primarily recognized for his contributions to film and television, especially as the head of the film department at Independent Television News. Beginning his writing career in the early 1940s, Capon published a variety of novels over two decades, with a strong focus on science fiction. His most popular works include the Antigeos series, particularly "The Other Side of the Sun" (1950) and its sequel "The Other Half of the Planet" (1952). In addition to science fiction, he explored genres such as historical novels and detective fiction, producing titles like "The Image of a Murder" (1949) and "Malice Domestic" (1974). Capon's works often appealed to younger audiences, with stories like "Flight of Time" (1960), which features teenagers in a time-traveling adventure. While his novels enjoyed popularity at the time of publication, they did not receive significant critical acclaim. Nonetheless, some of Capon's books have since become sought-after collectibles among fans of vintage science fiction.
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Paul Capon
Writer
- Born: December 18, 1912
- Birthplace: Kenton Hall, Suffolk, England
- Died: November 24, 1969
Biography
Paul Capon, whose full name was Harry Paul Capon, was born in England in 1912. He worked for many years as an editor and administrator in film and television production. Toward the end of his career, he headed the film department of Independent Television News.
Capon started writing in the early 1940’s, and for the next two decades he published several novels in a variety of genres, most notably science fiction. He also wrote historical novels, detective fiction, such as The Image of a Murder (1949), and Malice Domestic (1974), and a nonfiction work, The Great Yarmouth Mystery (1965).
The science fiction novels which established him as a popular writer appeared in the two- volume Antigeos series, more commonly called the Other Side series. The Other Side of the Sun, published in 1950, was followed two years later with The Other Half of the Planet. The World at Bay appeared in 1954. From these books, Capon went on to write other space fiction, and most of these books were rather simplistic and popular as juvenile science fiction novels. Flight of Time (1960), for example, is usually classified as children’s science fiction. In this novel, four teenagers find a time-travel ship along a deserted beach, and soon they are off to the world three hundred years in the future, to 2260. The teenagers are viewed as exotic curiosities of the past, and for that reason the futuristic people want to keep them there.
Capon’s other works are set in the past, such as The Kingdom of the Bulls (1961), set in ancient Greece, or The Golden Cloak (1962), set in Rome at the time of Julius Caesar. Another is set in prehistoric Britain. Capon’s stories were fairly popular with readers at the time they were published, but they did not achieve critical acclaim. Nonetheless, several of Capon’s books have become collector’s items, such as The World at Bay, since most of his works have been out of print for several decades. The books themselves, particularly the science fiction novels of the 1950’s, with their pulp fiction covers, have acquired some status with fans interested in historical periods in the science fiction genre.