BIBLIOGRAPHY 1960-1961
Thank you to biographer Dennis Duffy for providing this bibliography (including all of the original covers) of Leonard's more than 100 works.
The Hands of Cormac Joyce (1960)
New York: G P Putnam’s Sons, 1960 [Adult Fiction].
A tremendous storm threatens an island off the Irish coast and the few families who live there. When his father decides to ride out the storm in their home rather than evacuate to the mainland circumstances force a young boy to discover his own reservoirs of inner strength and fortitude.
"The Hands of Cormac Joyce beatifies the strength and beauty of the simple people who live on one of the islands of the coast of Ireland"—Saturday Review
"A small story that will haunt you with loveliness"—Google Books Review
"A delightful little tale, full of heart. I enjoyed it chiefly for its down-to-earth Irish feel and the wonderful way the sea was described in such thorough and beautiful detail that I could almost taste the salt and feel the spray."—Goodreads Review
Black Tiger at Bonneville (1960)
The Black Tiger Series, Book 4
New York: Ives, Washburn, 1960 [Youth Fiction as Patrick O’Connor].
The fourth of six sports-car racing stories about Woody Hartford, a young racing enthusiast, and his car—the Black Tiger.
Having won the Mexican Road Race and Le Mans, Woody Hartford becomes obsessed with breaking the land-speed record. To be the fastest car in the world—to go over 400mph—Woody, with the help of his mechanic, Worm McNess, will need to build a special Black Tiger that uses four engines. And to race it, Woody will need four times the amount of courage.
Written by racing enthusiast Leonard Wibberley under the pen name Patrick O'Connor, The Black Tiger Series transports the reader back to a golden age of both racing and American life to tell timeless stories of courage, teamwork, glory, heartbreak, and the human condition.
"We certainly hope Mr. O'Connor continues this fine series on motor racing started so ably in his previous books: The Black Tiger, Mexican Road Race and Black Tiger at Le Mans. The current one on making a world record attempt at Bonneville is equally as good as his past efforts. This series is aimed at the younger reader, of course, but we know adults will probably end up reading them!"—Sports Car Magazine
Mark Toyman's Inheritance (1960)
New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1960 [Youth Historical Fiction as Christopher Webb].
Mark Toyman is an orphan being raised by his uncle and aunt on the Kansas frontier in the early 1850s. A pro-slavery mob kills his uncle, forcing Mark and his aunt to flee for their lives in an adventure that takes them to California.
When the Civil War starts, he returns east to fight for the Union. Through all these experiences, Mark is searching for the inheritance his father promised was waiting for him once he grew up.
"Christopher Webb, author of Matt Tyler's Chronicle, presents a likable hero against a comprehensive background of America at one of its most dynamic periods, and exposes actual incidents and personalities in context of a well-structured plot."—Kirkus Reviews
Peter Treegate's War (1960)
The Treegate Series, Book 2
New York: Ariel Books (Farrar, Straus & Cudahy), 1960 [Youth Historical Fiction].
The story picks up where the first Treegate series book ended, at the Battle of Bunker’s Hill. Peter and the Maclaren are captured by the British and placed on a prison ship in Boston Harbor.
They escape with the help of Peace of God Manly, a New England sea captain, and the three become part of the crew of a ship carrying gunpowder to the Colonial army in Boston.
The story takes them from Boston to New York to the crossing of the Delaware and back to the mountains of South Carolina.
"Leonard Wibberley's portrayal of the formidable Scot is remarkably vivid, and his depiction of the Scottish colony in the Carolinas sheds new insight on an obscure but remarkable current in American history."—Kirkus Reviews
The Land That Isn't There: An Irish Adventure (1960)
New York: Ives Washburn, 1960 [Adult Non-fiction].
Leonard Wibberley takes his children Kevin (age nine) and Patricia (age seven) to Ireland to teach them about their Irish roots. He helps his children experience the Ireland of his own childhood that is in danger of being lost as modern Ireland struggles to find its place among the countries the world.
A Pact With Satan (1960)
A Father Bredder Mystery, Book 2
New York: Dodd, Mead, 1960 [Father Bredder Mystery as Leonard Holton].
A couple both burn to death, the husband in a car crash and his grieving widow in her bed. Both deaths appear to be accidental but Father Bredder and Lt. Minardi suspect foul play; and the priest almost loses his own life to prove it.
"All the reader could ask... adventure, warm humor, and provocative nuggets of wisdom."—The Los Angeles Times
"There is an ingenious interplay of violence and death, but the best part is the humorous portrait of the priest."—Kirkus Reviews
"There's lots of humor in the story and the result is highly entertaining."—Clerical Detectives
Stranger at Killknock (1961)
New York: G P Putnam’s Sons, 1961 [Adult Fiction].
An isolated fishing village on the Atlantic coast of Ireland provides the backdrop for this poignant yet gently humorous story of the conflict between Christian and Celtic beliefs. Deeply spiritual and profoundly human.
"A beautiful and lyrical story blessed with the simplicity of truth and faith... If you have a heart, it will reach out to you and give you the comfort of the seas and the mountains."—The Associated Press
"A cherished treasure of love, life and spiritual renewal in midcentury Ireland. I first read this when I was thirteen, and loved it. Rereading it now, decades later, it is even lovelier. The descriptions are breathtakingly vivid and real, the people strongly drawn, and the mixture of human and spiritual themes delicately and beautifully done."—Amazon Review
Time of the Lamb: A Christmas Story (1961)
New York: Ives, Washburn, 1961 [Adult Fiction].
A touching story of a young boy herding sheep on the lonely Hampshire downs in England with an old shepherd and his two dogs who comes to understand the true meaning of Christmas story as seen through the eyes of a shepherd.
Treasure at Twenty Fathoms (1961)
New York: Ives, Washburn, 1961 [Youth Fiction as Patrick O’Connor].
Chuck Crawford is learning to dive and has a run in with a shark. Will he be able to overcome his fears or will he have to quit diving. Wibberley provides an exciting story filled with realistic details of deep sea diving.
Yesterday's Land: A Baja California Adventure (1961)
New York: Ives Washburn, 1961 [Adult Non-fiction].
Leonard Wibberley and a friend explore Baja California in a four wheel truck. He provides an interesting study of the people, land, and history of this remote area of Mexico.
"This is no guide book for the traveler to follow but a journey to be shared with an ebullient companion, whose observations and tales and thoroughly entertaining."—Kirkus Reviews
Zebulon Pike: Soldier and Explorer (1961)
New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1961 [Adult Biography].
When President Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory he sent Lewis and Clark to follow the Missouri River to its source and continue on to the Pacific coast if possible. Their journey is well known and well chronicled.
Less well known are the travels of another man, Zebulon Pike, sent out at the same time to explore two other equally important parts of the new territory. In this book Wibberley relates Pike’s experiences as he sets out to find and map first the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the north and then those of the Arkansas and Red rivers in the southwest portion of the Louisiana Purchase.
Following his return Zebulon Pike continued serving in the US Army. Eventually he was promoted to general and led forces in the invasion of Canada during the War of 1812. He was killed in action at the capture of York (present day Toronto).
"A straightforward factual presentation which should interest those who relish American history."—Kirkus Reviews
Sea Captain from Salem (1961)
The Treegate Series, Book 3
New York: Ariel Books (Farrar, Straus & Cudahy), 1961 [Youth Historical Fiction].
The third book in the Treegate series follows the sea captain Peace of God Manly as he sails to France with special dispatches for Benjamin Franklin who is struggling to enlist French support in the American colonist’s war effort.
This book provides valuable insights to a little known chapter of the history of the Revolutionary War.
"I found this book to be one of the most intriguing historical books on the Revolutionary War time period." —Goodreads Review
Secret of the Doubting Saint (1961)
A Father Bredder Mystery, Book 3
New York: Dodd, Mead, 1961 [Father Bredder Mystery as Leonard Holton].
A millionaire TV producer is murdered and a four hundred carat diamond disappears. Lt. Minardi sifts through the physical clues hoping to solve the case but Father Bredder knows that the solution will be found only by focusing on the spiritual fingerprints.
"Absorbing Mystery."—The Lewiston Journal
"Father Bredder is a worthy successor to Father Brown"—Springfield Daily News