BIBLIOGRAPHY 1972 - 1975
Thank you to biographer Dennis Duffy for providing this bibliography (including all of the original covers) of Leonard's more than 100 works.
Flint's Island (1972)
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1972 [Adult Fiction].
An unofficial sequel to the most popular pirate tale ever told—Treasure Island. In this story inspired by the opening line of the famous novel, in which Jim Hawkins tells of a "treasure not yet lifted" still hidden on an unknown island, find out what became of literature's most beloved "bad guy"—Long John Silver—and whatever happened to the remaining treasure.
"Silver's wiliness and Flint's mystique are perfectly captured and the American seamen—prudent Captain Samuels, the unimaginative Yankee carpenter Smigley, the impulsive mutineer Green and the loyal, but mean-spirited Peasbody are worthy of their Hispaniola counterparts."—Kirkus Reviews
"It was truly a pleasure to meet once again the infamous Long John Silver."—Goodreads Reviewer
The Testament of Theophilus: A Novel of Christ and Caesar (a.k.a., Body of Proof) (1972)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1972 [Adult Historical Fiction].
One part Dashiell Hammett, one part Dan Brown—
When Theophilus, a Roman merchant, is tasked by King Herod to find the body of Christ and prove he didn't rise from the dead, Theophilus goes down a road that will change everything he ever believed in.
(Also published under the titles The Seven Hills, Merchant of Rome: A Novel of Christ and Caesar, and Body of Proof: The Investigation by Theophilus into the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.)
"Mr. Wibberley has woven several important and widely neglected truths about nascent Christianity into an absorbing story."—New York Times Book Review
The Shannon Sailors: A Voyage to the Heart of Ireland (1972)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1972 [Adult Non-fiction].
Leonard Wibberley and his four sons spend a summer travelling in a motorized cabin cruiser through the heartland of Ireland along the Shannon River and Grand Canal. Wibberley captures for his readers the people, culture, and spirit of the country of his birth.
"Languid meanderings, recalled with Gaelic whimsy, somewhat off the beaten tourist track."—Kirkus Reviews
The Mirror of Hell (1972)
A Father Bredder Mystery, Book 9
New York: Dodd, Mead, 1972 [Father Bredder Mystery as Leonard Holton].
When Lt. Minardi’s sixteen-year-old daughter attends a summer drama and cheerleading program at a local college students begin turning up dead. While investigating the case the policeman and priest uncover a conspiracy of drug-dealing and murder that almost costs the young girl her life.
"The Mirror of Hell is a hard-hitting fast-moving story about Lieutenant Minardi's 16-year-old daughter Susan's experiences at a summer course where murder and drugs turn out to be on the agenda."—Clerical Detectives
"Father Bredder is a priest-detective in the Miss Marple mode. Modest, unassuming and very thoughtful. I never saw Sarge, the TV series which this apparently inspired, but it seems to be more in line with what Masterpiece Mystery does—Grantchester set in California, if you will. I didn't read all the books in the series in order and I was fine, but I did read all of them. The Mirror of Hell involves murder at a college. Students get killed, and Bredder is drawn to solve the mystery. As is always the case, Bredder's faith plays a big part in his solving the murder. And while he is Catholic, this is not an anyway didactic."—Amazon Reviewer
The Last Stand of Father Felix (1973)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1973 [Adult Fiction].
A cynical, American journalist is tasked with interviewing an elderly priest named Father Felix who refuses to leave his mission, which is caught in the path of opposing armies during the Blemi Civil War in Africa. As Weathers makes his way to the mission, he learns more and more about this stubborn priest. When he finally arrives at the mission, his lack of faith in humanity is challenged.
★★★★★ "There is one conversation between the main character and a spy that makes the book amazing. Even though the book is a quick read it still manages to achieve tones of the Old Man and the Sea. The priest is the main characters desperate and defining catch. Little jewel that aged well."—Amazon Review
Red Pawns (a.k.a., Manly Treegate Fronteirsman) (1973)
The Treegate Series, Book 6
New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1973 [Youth Historical Fiction].
The second book of the Manly Treegate Series follows two story lines. In one, we learn about the military campaign in the Ohio Valley when Manly joins General William Henry Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe in a fight against Indian forces being stirred up by the British to drive out American settlers.
The second story line follows Peter Treegate to England where he strives to find a peaceful settlement to the economic issues that have brought Britain and America to the brink of war.
"Nowadays no one writes the kind of boys' adventures spun by Stevenson and C. S. Forester, but Leonard Wibberley carries on the tradition with tongue in cheek."—Kirkus Reviews
1776—And All That: A Full-Length Play (1973)
Chicago: Dramatic Publishing Co., 1973 [Full Length Play].
If George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, King George III, and Voltaire returned to earth during America’s Bicentennial celebration would they find that the Great American Experiment in establishing a government dedicated to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness had been a success or a failure?
Wibberley answers this question in a clever and fanciful satire.
Guarneri: Story of Genius (1974)
New York: Ariel Books (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), 1974 [Youth Non-fiction].
Guarneri del Gesu was a master violin maker in eighteenth century Cremona whose instruments rivalled those of his contemporaries Antonio Stradivari and Nicolo Amati. Sadly, Guarneri’s full potential was never realized because of poverty, alcoholism, and depression. He died at the relatively young age of forty-six years. Wibberley tells the story of Guarneri’s life through the eyes of Thomas Soli, a fictitious young orphan apprenticed to the violin maker.
"Wibberley's Guarneri is exceptional as a study of artistic inspiration and a remarkable view of the milieu of the Renaissance instrument maker, and the Thomas Soli subplot...is carried off with his equally characteristic brio and wit."—Kirkus Reviews
The Devil to Play (1974)
A Father Bredder Mystery, Book 10
New York: Dodd, Mead, 1974 [Father Bredder Mystery as Leonard Holton].
A baseball player is shot in the middle of a big game and Father Bredder is hired by the team manager to solve the case. Before he is done he has to clear the name of a murdered priest accused of drug dealing and figure out if the team manager committed suicide because of his gambling debts or was murdered.
"The Devil to Play is fully up to the previous Holton hooks about his ex-marine priest This one has a baseball motif: a player is shot from the stands during a game, and Father Bredder, a fan to end all fans, gets involved. As it turns out, there is very little baseball in this baseball book, but there is a well-constructed plot and a welcome lack or Holy Joeism. The writing moves with the speed of a line drive from the bat of Duke Snider."—The New York Times
1776—and All That (1975)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1975 [Adult Fiction].
If George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, King George III, and Voltaire returned to earth during America’s Bicentennial celebration what would they find? Wibberley answers this question in a clever and fanciful satire. This novella is based on the play by the same title that was first published in 1973.
"An amusing but also thought-provoking book."—Phil Thomas, AP Books Editor, The Bulletin
Mouse on Mars: A Full-Length Comedy Play (1975)
Chicago: Dramatic Publishing Co., 1975 [Two-act Play Adapted with Christopher Sergel from The Mouse on the Moon].
Since the US had already landed on the moon by time this play was written, Wibberley moves the space race to another target—the planet Mars.
Take Me to Your President: A Two-Act Play (1975)
Chicago: Dramatic Publishing Co., 1975 [Two-act Play Adapted with Christopher Sergel from the book by the same title].
Once, in a Garden: A Two-Act Play (1975)
Chicago: Dramatic Publishing Co., 1975 [Two-act Play].
Wibberley takes his readers into the Garden of Eden where he ponders the nature of good and evil, considers the relationship between man and God, and reflects on the purpose of the Creation and this earth life.