BIBLIOGRAPHY 1976 - 1983
Thank you to biographer Dennis Duffy for providing this bibliography (including all of the original covers) of Leonard's more than 100 works.
One in Four (1976)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1976 [Adult Science Fiction].
A thought-provoking novel built around the premise that aliens are communicating with mankind. The big questions are who will speak with them? And to what end?
The book also explores the influence of multinational companies on national governments.
The Last Battle (1976)
The Treegate Series, Book 7
New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1976 [Youth Historical Fiction].
The Manly Treegate series ends with more exciting battle action on land and sea. Peter Treegate’s ongoing efforts to negotiate a peace settlement with England draw him into the conflict between English and French forces in Spain.
Meanwhile his nephew, Manly Treegate, commands a US naval vessel in the Caribbean in battles against British warships. He then recruits his Haitian pirate friends to fight alongside the American forces of Andrew Jackson at New Orleans in what would be the last battle of the War of 1812.
"It's a good yarn—reading about brave young men under fire. Wibberley gives the landlubber an exciting voyage."—The New York Times
A Corner of Paradise (1977)
A Father Bredder Mystery, Book 11
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1977 [Father Bredder Mystery as Leonard Holton].
In this eleventh and final Father Bredder mystery the priest finds himself drawn into the world of international art with the murder of a notorious jewel thief in the home of a renowned art collector and playwright. What makes the case personal is that the prime suspect is the new son-in-law of Lt. Minardi.
"The ex-marine, ex-prizefighter who has turned to the cloth, gets mixed up with a jewel thief, a famous playwright and a cop whose son-in-law may be the culprit."—The New York Times
"Mystery lovers, here's a delightful treat for you."—The Atlantic Constitution
Homeward to Ithaka (1978)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1978 [Adult Fiction].
In this enthralling time travel fantasy a Columbia University professor finds himself joining Ulysses on his way home from the Trojan War. In Wibberley’s version of his odyssey, Ulysses makes a side trip to ancient Ireland where he participates in the Great Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Little League Family (1978)
New York: Doubleday, 1978 [Youth Fiction].
Little League baseball is causing problems for the Hurley family. Rory and Coco struggle on the field while their father is put in charge of the annual Pancake Breakfast just when he given a big project at work.
They all have some hard choices to make and failure seems inevitable. But the boys end up winning the big baseball game and their dad succeeds both with the breakfast and with his job—but not necessarily in the ways any of them anticipated.
Perilous Gold (1978)
New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1978 [Youth Fiction].
A teenage boy and his father who love scuba diving design and build a small two-man submarine to search for gold on a sunken ship off the California coast. But is the promise of millions in gold worth the risk to their lives?
Wibberley's usual attention to detail and his simple explanations of technical matters make this book both an informative and an exciting read.
The Good-Natured Man: A Portrait of Oliver Goldsmith (1978)
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1979 [Adult Biography].
Oliver Goldsmith was an Anglo-Irish author who trained as a doctor but left that profession to pursue his passion to write. Several classics of English literature including The Vicar of Wakefield (novel), She Stoops to Conquer (play), and The Deserted Village (poem) came from his pen.
He was a close friend and intimate of other eighteenth century English literary figures such as Samuel Johnson, Joshua Reynolds, and David Garrick. Goldsmith lived an impetuous and disorganized life beset with poverty, gambling, and wasted opportunities.
Wibberley presents an honest, yet sensitive and sympathetic appraisal of Goldsmith’s life.
The Crime of Martin Coverly (a.k.a, On Cursed Tides of Time) (1980)
First published as The Crime of Martin Coverly
New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1980 [Youth Fiction].
Wibberley combines time travel, piracy on the high seas, and a search for King Solomon’s Lost Mines in this exciting tale.
When 16-year-old, high school student Nick Orsmby finds himself mysteriously transported back in time to the pirate ship of Captain Roberts--who's searching for King Solomon's gold—Nick must figure out how to reverse a curse that's plagued his family or die on the gallows.
★★★★ "Exciting, vivid, swashbuckling."—Goodreads Review
The Mouse that Saved the West (1981)
The Mouse That Roared Series, Book 4
New York: William Morrow & Company, 1981 [Adult Fiction].
An oil shortage gives the OPEC nations control of the world’s energy market and precipitates an energy crisis. Once again the Duchy of Grand Fenwick comes to the rescue, but in a way that no one expected—or even wanted.
"Timeless themes and great perceptions about society framed in humor"—Amazon Review
"...an excellent book to read on a cool, wet afternoon."—LibraryThing Review
Shamrocks & Sea Silver and Other Illuminations (1993)
San Bernardino: Borgo Press, 1993 [Commentary and Opinion].
This is a posthumous publication of syndicated newspaper columns Leonard Wibberley wrote between 1979 and his death on 22 November 1983.