BIBLIOGRAPHY 1964-1966
Thank you to biographer Dennis Duffy for providing this bibliography (including all of the original covers) of Leonard's more than 100 works.
A Feast of Freedom (1964)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1964 [Adult Fiction].
A Feast of Freedom is a brilliant spoof of international affairs—an irresistible blend of humor and satire that is as delightful, as timely, and as deliciously cunning as The Mouse That Roared.
While visiting cannibals on a small South Pacific island, the Vice President gets into a stew—literally—causing an international incident that only Leonard Wibberley could concoct.
“Another wildly funny, enormously readable, strangely applicable novel from the pen of a gifted writer.”—The Los Angeles Times
The Raising of the Dubhe (1964)
New York: Ives, Washburn, 1964 [Youth Fiction as Patrick O’Connor].
Chuck Crawford had overcome his fears and become an experienced diver. In this sequel to Treasure at Twenty Fathoms he joins two other divers in purchasing the salvage rights to the Dubhe, a sunken 55–foot yawl, and helps raise and restore it. Based on Wibberley’s real-life experience.
Fuji: Islands of the Dawn (1964)
New York: Ives Washburn, 1964 [Adult Non-fiction].
En route to Australia Leonard Wibberley decides to stop off in the Fiji Islands and stay for a while. The result is a fascinating study of the people, land, and history of these remote Pacific islands.
"High adevnture in the Fijis... The many legends of the islands are there, too, engagingly told."—Saturday Review
A Dawn in the Trees: Thomas Jefferson, the Years 1776-1789 (1964)
New York: Ariel Books (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), 1964 [Youth Biography].
Book two of Wibberley’s Jefferson biography begins with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson becomes governor of Virginia during the Revolutionary War and is instrumental in holding the colony together in the face of constant British military actions. Jefferson’s joy at the successful end of the war was dashed by the death of his wife Martha following the birth of a daughter in 1782.
Though grieving, Jefferson’s services were needed by his country and in 1784 the Confederation Congress appointed him Minister to France to negotiate political and trade treaties with our wartime ally. He would remain in Europe until 1789.
Flowers By Request (1964)
A Father Bredder Mystery, Book 5
New York: Dodd, Mead, 1964 [Father Bredder Mystery as Leonard Holton].
Father Bredder finds himself drawn into solving the murder of a wealthy financier found dead in a bed of gladioli, a killing that has all the earmarks of a Mafia hit. The priest manages to solve the case while at the same time organizing a male choir for the convent from among his skid row friends and appearing in a charity boxing match.
"There is an ingenious interplay of violence and death, but the best part is the humorous portrait of the priest."—Kirkus Reviews
The Island of the Angels (1965)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1965 [Adult Fiction].
Francisco, a poor fisherman living alone on an island off the coast of Baja California finds his life disturbed by the arrival of an impoverished boy sick with diphtheria. In order to save the boy’s life Francisco must row a small boat through high winds and waves in the middle of the night to the nearest village on the mainland for help. This simple tale captures the challenges and grace of day-to-day life in rural Mexico.
Seawind from Hawaii (1965)
New York: Ives, Washburn, 1965 [Youth Fiction as Patrick O’Connor].
A fictionalized account based on a 2,000 mile voyage made by Leonard Wibberley in his own sailboat from Honolulu to Hermosa Beach, California. The tale, filled with navigating details and sailing lore, describes the excitement of life aboard a small sailboat at sea as the crew must call upon every bit of their skill and ability to overcome high winds, storms, accidents and human error.
The author's "...strong sense of the sea, in all her moods, which gives to the story rhythm and substance."—Kirkus Reviews
The Gales of Spring: Thomas Jefferson, the Years 1789-1801 (1965)
New York: Ariel Books (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), 1965 [Youth Biography].
The third book of the Jefferson biography covers the twelve years that perhaps were the stormiest period in his life. While Jefferson was serving as Minister to France a new United States Constitution was approved to replace the Articles of Confederation.
The newly elected president, George Washington, appointed Thomas Jefferson as his Secretary of State. In this position Jefferson, a strong proponent of Democratic-Republicanism, found himself in conflict with Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of Treasury, and John Adams, the Vice President, both ardent Federalists. In the 1796 presidential election Adams defeated Jefferson following an acrimonious campaign, but under election rules at that time Jefferson, who came in second, became Adam’s vice president. The two were in constant conflict over policy during the next four years until Jefferson defeated Adams in the 1800 presidential election.
The Centurion (1966)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1966 [Adult Historical Fiction].
The New Testament Gospels contain several interactions between Jesus Christ and centurions (a Roman military officer in charge of one hundred soldiers).
Starting with the assumption that the centurion in each case is the same individual, Leonard Wibberley creates a moving narrative of Christ’s Ministry and Passion. This novel offers fascinating insights into the historic relationship between Jews and Romans while presenting a profound study of religious faith and belief.
Wibberley declared that “The Centurion is more important to me than anything else I’ve ever written.”
"Many words have been written about the ministry and passion of Christ, yet this versatile local author brings to the timeless subject such an intense fresh point of view expressed in a novel of vigorous vital prose that the reader feels a sense of mounting excitement as though hearing the plot for the first time."
—Los Angeles Times
The Ann and Hope Mutiny (1966)
New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1966 [Youth Fiction as Christopher Webb].
The father of fifteen-year-old Tom Jones disappeared in the South Seas while captaining a ship in the China trade. The arrival of a mysterious stranger affords Tom the opportunity to learn what happened to his father. Tom endures kidnapping, escapes riots, sails through uncharted waters, and confronts cannibals before the truth is discovered.
Toward a Distant Island: A Sailor's Odyssey (1966)
New York: Ives Washburn, 1966 [Adult Non-fiction].
Leonard Wibberley enjoyed sailing for most of his life. This book chronicles many of his experiences at sea from when he was a young man sailing the Caribbean through his many voyages along the California coast and culminates in an adventure-filled trip from California to Hawaii and back in Bahia, his forty foot yawl.
Along the way we learn of Wibberley's deep appreciation for the greatness of the sea and his respect for its power and majesty or what he refers to lovingly as its "Presence."
Time of the Harvest: Thomas Jefferson, the years 1801-1826 (1966)
New York: Ariel Books (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), 1966 [Youth Biography].
The fourth and final volume of Wibberley’s series on the life of Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson served as US president from 1801 to 1809. During those years he doubled the size of the United by purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France and asserted America’s international power by confronting the Barbary pirates in North Africa.
Following his presidency Jefferson retired to Monticello where he assumed the role of elder statesman providing advice to his friends—and subsequent presidents—James Madison and James Monroe. He also fulfilled a lifelong ambition by founding the University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Out of the Depths (1966)
A Father Bredder Mystery, Book 6
New York: Dodd, Mead, 1966 [Father Bredder Mystery as Leonard Holton].
A relaxing day fishing off the pier with his friend Lt. Minardi takes a tragic turn when Father Bredder reels in a dead scuba diver. The duo sets out to prove that the diver didn’t drown in an accident but that he was murdered. Before they finish the priest almost becomes the victim of a scuba diving “accident” himself as they uncover industrial espionage and stolen atomic secrets.
“A rattling good yarn… the type of mystery the reader will find himself most reluctant to put down.”—Lewiston Journal
“Father Bredder and his friend Lt. Minardi of L.A. look below the surface to snag triple killers. Will delight scuba fans.”—The Saturday Review