Editing Lionel Fanthorpe

{{Short description|British writer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[The Reverend]]
| name               = Lionel Fanthorpe
| honorific_suffix   = 
| image              = Lionel Fanthorpe 2013.jpg
| caption            = Fanthorpe in 2013
| birth_name         = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|df=y|9 February 1935}}
| birth_place        = 
| death_date         = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (enter DEATH date then BIRTH date (e.g., ...|1908|31|8|1967|28|2}} use both this parameter and |birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
| death_place        = 
| nationality        = British
| citizenship        = 
| education          = [[Barnard Castle School]] <br /> [[Hamond's Grammar School]]
| alma_mater         = [[Open University]]
| occupation         = {{hlist|teacher|author|priest|presenter}}
| years_active       = 
| era                = 
| employer           = 
| organization       = 
| known_for          = 
| notable_works      = <!-- produces label "Notable work"; may be overridden by |credits=, which produces label "Notable credit(s)"; or by |works=, which produces label "Works"; or by |label_name=, which produces label "Label(s)" -->
| television         = 
| title              = <!-- Formal/awarded/job title. The parameter |office=may be used as an alternative when the label is better rendered as "Office" (e.g. public office or appointments) -->
| term               = 
| predecessor        = 
| successor          = 
| party              = 
| spouse             = Patricia 
| children           = 2
| parents            = <!-- overrides mother and father parameters -->
| awards             = 
}}
'''Robert Lionel Fanthorpe''' (born 9 February 1935<ref>{{cite book | last = Reginald | first = Robert | title = Stella Nova: The Contemporary Science Fiction Authors | publisher = Unicorn | year = 1970}}</ref>) is a retired British priest and entertainer. Fanthorpe also worked as a dental technician, journalist, teacher, television presenter, author and lecturer. Born in [[Dereham]] in [[Norfolk]], he lives in [[Cardiff]] in [[South Wales]], where he served as Director of [[Media Studies]] and tutor/lecturer in [[Religious Studies]] at the Cardiff Academy<ref name=Fanthorpe/><ref name="Academy"/> [[Sixth form college]].<ref name=Fanthorpe/><ref name=Academy>[http://www.cardiffacademy.co.uk/lionel_fanthorpe.html Fanthorpe's Profile on the Cardiff Academy website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007043852/http://www.cardiffacademy.co.uk/lionel_fanthorpe.html |date= 7 October 2013}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Lionel Fanthorpe was educated at [[Barnard Castle School]] and [[The Nicholas Hamond Academy|Hamond's Grammar School]] in [[Swaffham]].<ref>[http://www.literaturewales.org/writers-of-wales/i/129650/  Fanthorpe on The Writers of Wales Database] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044638/http://www.literaturewales.org/writers-of-wales/i/129650/ |date=4 March 2016 }}</ref>  He left school aged 15 and married Patricia Alice Tooke (born 1938) in 1957. For a period he worked as a journalist on the ''Norfolk Chronicle'' and then as a van driver and warehouseman at Hamerton's Stores in [[Dereham]], taking his [[GCE Advanced Level|A-level]]s by private study at home and by correspondence courses.<ref name="Hamilton2012">{{cite book|author=Alex Hamilton|title=Writing Talk: Conversations with Top Writers of the Last Fifty Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GRj7Obqcry4C&q=lionel+fanthorpe+open+university&pg=PA63|year=2012|publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd|isbn=978-1-78088-339-7|page=63}}</ref> He attended the teacher-training course at Keswick Hall College in [[Norwich]] between 1961 and 1963, where he achieved Distinctions in Educational Theory and Practice and in Advanced Main Theology<ref name=Writers>{{cite book|author=Robert Reginald|title=Contemporary Science Fiction Authors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qwXhmXlVT_oC&q=lionel+fanthorpe+garbutt&pg=PA307|year=2009|orig-year=1970|publisher=Wildside Press LLC|isbn=978-1-4344-7857-3|page=307}}</ref> as part of his [[Certificate in Education]].<ref name="Fiction">{{cite book|author1=R. Reginald|author2=Mary A. Burgess|author3=Douglas Menville|title=Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3nPYfqEbfrsC&q=lionel+fanthorpe+garbutt&pg=PA894|date=September 2010|publisher=Wildside Press LLC|orig-year=1979|isbn=978-0-941028-78-3|page=894|volume=2}}</ref>

Fanthorpe was a schoolmaster at Dereham Secondary Modern School from 1958 to 1961 and again from 1963 to 1967, and a Further Education Tutor based at [[Gamlingay Village College]] from 1967 to 1969.<ref name=Fiction/>  He was Industrial Training Manager for the Phoenix Timber Group of Companies in [[Rainham, London|Rainham]] from 1969 to 1972, Head of English and then Deputy Headteacher at [[Hellesdon High School]] near [[Norwich]] from 1972 to 1979, and Headmaster of Glyn Derw High School in [[Cardiff]] from 1979 to 1989.<ref name=Academy/> He has a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in Arts & Social Sciences from the [[Open University]]. He was ordained as a [[non-stipendiary priest|non-stipendiary]]<ref>[http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/content/view/118/117/ Fanthorpe interviewed on the Oak Island Treasure website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213156/http://www.oakislandtreasure.co.uk/content/view/118/117/ |date= 4 October 2013 }}</ref> [[Anglican]] priest in the [[Church in Wales]] in 1987,<ref name=Academy/> is also a minister of the [[Universal Life Church]],<ref>[http://ulc.net/index.php?page=minister_data&id=18924 Fanthorpe's Profile on the ULC website]</ref> and was also at one time a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]] in Bowers Lodge in Norwich.<ref>Fanthorpe, Lionel & Patricia, ''Mysteries and Secrets of the Masons'' Publisher: Dundurn Group Ltd (2006)</ref>

He is the author or co-author of more than 250 books.<ref name=Fanthorpe/><ref name=forteantv1/> He has been president of the [[British UFO Research Association]] and is the president of the [[Association for the Scientific Study of Anomalous Phenomena]].<ref name=Fanthorpe>[http://www.lionel-fanthorpe.com/lionel-fanthorpe/biography Fanthorpe's Official Website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304223129/http://www.lionel-fanthorpe.com/lionel-fanthorpe/biography|date=4 March 2016}}</ref> He presented  [[Channel 4]]'s ''[[Fortean TV]]''<ref name=forteantv1>[http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewarticle.php?id=109 Fortean TV], Unexplained Mysteries (27 May 2007)</ref><ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1238823/ ''Fortean TV''] on [[Internet Movie Database]]</ref> and has made many appearances at ''[[Fortean Times]]'' magazine's [[UnCon]],<ref name=Interview>[http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/an-interview-with-rev-lionel-fanthorpe.html 'An Interview With Rev Lionel Fanthorpe' - 'Mysterious Britain & Ireland' website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004214055/http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/an-interview-with-rev-lionel-fanthorpe.html |date=4 October 2013 }}</ref>  most recently in October 2004 when he gave a talk on "The [[Knights Templar]] and their Ancient Secrets". He is a Fellow of the [[College of Preceptors]]<ref name=Writers/> and the [[Chartered Management Institute]].<ref name=Fanthorpe/>

He is a member of the high IQ society [[Mensa International|Mensa]]<ref name=forteantv1/> and the [[paranormal]] research society [[the Ghost Club]].<ref name=Fanthorpe/>  In addition, Fanthorpe is a [[Dan (rank)|Dan Grade]] martial arts instructor and a weight-training instructor. He has been a frequent guest of the late night American radio talk show [[Coast to Coast AM]].

Fanthorpe was Director of [[Media Studies]] and teacher of [[Religious Studies]]  at the [[Sixth form college]] the Cardiff Academy<ref name=Fanthorpe/><ref name="Academy"/> in [[Cardiff]] in [[South Wales]]. In  2013 he appeared in the [[Yesterday (TV channel)|Yesterday]] series ''Forbidden History'' presented by [[Jamie Theakston]].

==Family life==
[[Image:Lionel-Patricia-Fanthorpe.jpg|thumb|right|Lionel and Patricia Fanthorpe]] 
Fanthorpe's wife Patricia is also his agent, manager and business partner. Moreover, they co-authored a number of books,<ref name=Fanthorpe/> including ''Rennes-le-Chateau: Its Mysteries and Secrets''  (1991), ''The Oak Island Mystery: The Secret of the World's Greatest Treasure Hunt'' (1995), ''The World's Most Mysterious People (Mysteries and Secrets)'' (1998), ''Mysteries of Templar Treasure and the Holy Grail: The Secrets of Rennes Le Chateau'' (2004), ''Mysteries and Secrets of the Templars: The Story Behind the Da Vinci Code'' (2005), ''Mysteries and Secrets of the Masons: The Story Behind the Masonic Order'' (2006), ''Satanism & Demonology: Mysteries and Secrets'' (2011), ''The Joan of Arc Mysteries'' (2019), ''Garan of the Veneti'' (2019), ''Parables of the Pond'' (2019), ''Earth, Sky and Sea'' (2019) and ''Thoughts and Prayers for Stressful Times'' (2019).

Today, the couple live in [[Roath]] in [[Cardiff]].  They have two daughters, Stephanie Dawn Patricia Fanthorpe (born 1964), and Fiona Mary Patricia Alcibiadette Fanthorpe (born 1966).<ref name=Writers/>

==Television, radio and film appearances==

===Television===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Year || Title || Role 
|-)
| 1997 || ''[[Fortean TV]]'' || Presenter<ref name=BFI/>
|-
| rowspan=3| 1999 || ''The Real Nostradamus'' || Presenter<ref name=BFI>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131021213758/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2bbc62c7d0  Famthorpe] on the [[British Film Institute]] website</ref>
|-
| ''I'll See You When I Get There'' || Presenter<ref name=BFI/>
|-
| ''St Nectan's Glen'' || Presenter<ref name=BFI/>
|-
| rowspan=4| 2000 ||  ''Castles of Horror'' || Presenter<ref>[http://www.locatetv.com/tv/castles-of-horror/23678/episode-guide ''Castles of Horror'' on Locate.tv website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020081128/http://www.locatetv.com/tv/castles-of-horror/23678/episode-guide |date=20 October 2013 }}</ref>
|-
| ''Stations of the Cross'' || Presenter<ref name=BFI/>
|-
| ''Lamarr's Attacks'' || Himself<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0254030/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_8 ''Lamarr's Attacks''] on the [[Internet Movie Database]]</ref>
|-
| ''Encounters with the Unexplained'' || Himself
|-
| 2001 ||  ''Holy Quiz'' || Presenter<ref name=BFI/>
|- 
| 2002 || ''The Marvellous Handshake'' || Himself
|-
| 2003 || ''Talking Stones'' || Presenter<ref name=BFI/>
|-
| 2004 || ''[[This Morning (TV programme)|This Morning]]'' || Himself<ref name=BFI/>
|-
| 2005 || ''[[The Heaven and Earth Show]]'' || Himself 
|-
| 2006 || ''[[Comedy Lab]]'' || Himself
|-
| 2006 || ''The Omen: Prophecy Fulfilled'', documentary || Himself
|-
| rowspan=2| 2008 || ''Bloodline'' || Himself<ref name=BFI/>
|-
| ''Unexplained with George Noory'' || Himself
|-
| 2013 || ''Forbidden History'', Season One|| Himself
|-
| rowspan=3| 2014 || ''Forbidden History'', Season Two|| Himself
|-
| ''Secrets of the Bible'' || Himself
|-
| ''[[Ancient Aliens]]'' || Himself
|-
| rowspan=2| 2016 || ''Forbidden History'', Season Three|| Himself
|}

===Radio===
Lionel Fanthorpe wrote and narrated several episodes of ''The Fanthorpe Investigations'' for BBC Radio (Sounds).<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038bf7s/episodes/guide | title=BBC Radio 4 Extra - the Fanthorpe Investigations - Episode guide }}</ref>

== Writing ==
Fanthorpe's output can be grouped under three broad headings, as follows:
* Approximately 180 paperback novels and short-story collections, in the science fiction and [[supernatural]] [[genre]]s, produced for the UK publisher [[Badger Books]] during the 1950s and 1960s.
* Numerous books on Christian themes, including the "Thoughts and Prayers" series.
* Compilations of [[Forteana]] (generally with the word "mystery", "mysteries" or "mysterious" in the title), co-written with his wife Patricia.

=== Badger Books ===
Fanthorpe began working for Badger Books in the early 1950s, and over the period of the next 15 years produced many books under different pseudonyms, some of which were pen-names shared with other of Badger Books' writers.<ref name=Interview/><ref>[http://www.peltorro.com/intro.htm Fanthorpe on Peltorro.com]</ref> These included: Victor La Salle, John E. Muller, and Karl Zeigfreid. Pseudonyms exclusive to Fanthorpe's short story output include Neil Balfort, Othello Baron, Noel Bertram, Oben Leterth, Elton T. Neef, Peter O'Flinn, René Rolant, Robin Tate, and Deutero Spartacus. Names he used for novels include Erle Barton, Lee Barton, Thornton Bell, Leo Brett, Bron Fane, L.P. Kenton, Phil Nobel, Lionel Roberts, Neil Thanet, Trebor Thorpe, Pel Torro, and Olaf Trent.<ref name=Writers/>
Using several of these pen names, he would often even write the entire contents of a pulp magazine such as "Supernatural Stories".

The exact number of books and stories Fanthorpe wrote for Badger Books is not known, but is estimated to be in excess of 180, 89 of which were written in a three-year period – an average of a 158-page book every 12 days.<ref name=intro>{{cite web | title = Lionel Fanthorpe Introduction Page | work = Lionel Fanthorpe Appreciation Page | url = http://www.peltorro.com/intro.htm }}</ref>

During his time at Badger Books, Fanthorpe was essentially a small cog in a large publishing machine.<ref name=intro/> The way the company worked was to acquire the cover art ''before'' the book was written, and send it to the author who then had to write a story about the cover. In some cases, Badger Books re-used cover art that had been produced to illustrate completely different novels. For example, Fanthorpe's 1960 novel ''Hand of Doom'' was written to suit a cover that had been produced to illustrate [[John Brunner (author)|John Brunner]]'s ''Slavers of Space'', which formed one-half of [[List of Ace double novels|Ace double]] D-421.<ref>http://people.uncw.edu/smithms/D-series/D-421.jpg {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>

Although generally based on situations and plots familiar from [[Pulp magazines|pulp fiction]], the novels and stories also used academic and pseudo-academic facts to fill out their background, including the [[mythology]] of [[Ancient Egyptian mythology|Ancient Egypt]] (''The Eye of [[Karnak]]''), [[Babylonian mythology|Babylon]] (''Unknown Destiny''), [[Hindu mythology|India]] (''Vengeance of [[Shiva|Siva]]'') and [[Greek mythology|Greece]] (''Negative Minus'').

The stories also demonstrate the author's interest in [[Fortean]] subjects, such as [[vimana]]s (''The Negative Ones''), [[Chase Vault]] and the [[Devil's Footprints]] (''U.F.O. 517''), the disappearances of [[Benjamin Bathurst (diplomat)#In science fiction|Benjamin Bathurst]] (''Time Echo'') and the crew of the ''[[Mary Celeste]]'' (''Barrier 346''), as well as the career of [[Charles Fort]] himself (''The X-Machine''). Another novel that discusses Charles Fort explicitly (both in the text and in the back-cover blurb) is ''Forbidden Planet''. This latter novel has no connection with the [[Forbidden Planet|famous film]] of the same title, but instead describes a vast interstellar [[chess]] game played by superhuman entities using human beings as pawns.

Other novels are [[pastiche]]s of accepted works of the [[Western Canon]] – ''Beyond the Void'' is a loose rewrite of [[Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[The Tempest]]'', and in ''Negative Minus'' the characters Suessydo and Epolenep re-enact [[Homer]]ic tales.

=== Wordcatcher Publishing ===
As of 2019, Lionel and his wife began writing for Wordcatcher Publishing, a publishing house based in Cardiff, Wales.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Home|url=https://wordcatcher.com/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Wordcatcher Publishing|language=en-GB}}</ref> So far, under this partnership, they have released the historical fiction titles ''The Joan of Arc Mysteries''<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Joan of Arc Mysteries|url=https://wordcatcher.com/product/the-joan-of-arc-mysteries/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Wordcatcher Publishing|language=en-GB}}</ref> and ''Garan of the Veneti'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Garan of the Veneti|url=https://wordcatcher.com/product/garan-of-the-veneti/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Wordcatcher Publishing|language=en-GB}}</ref> in addition to multiple books in the 'Thoughts and Prayers' series.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Christian Thoughts And Prayers Archives|url=https://wordcatcher.com/product-category/books/series/christian-thoughts-and-prayers/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Wordcatcher Publishing|language=en-GB}}</ref> Alongside these are a collection of poems, ''Earth, Sea and Sky'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Earth, Sea and Sky|url=https://wordcatcher.com/product/earth-sea-and-sky/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Wordcatcher Publishing|language=en-GB}}</ref> plus a children's book called ''Parables of the Pond'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Parables from the Pond|url=https://wordcatcher.com/product/parables-from-the-pond/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Wordcatcher Publishing|language=en-GB}}</ref> the latter of which was published under the Auxillium Press imprint.

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Further reading ==
* Cross, Debbie. ''Down the Badger Hole. R. Lionel Fanthorpe: the Badger years.'' Portland: [http://www.wrigleycrossbooks.com Wrigley Cross Books], 1995. Includes a bibliography, an introduction by [[David Langford]], and samples of Fanthorpe's writing.
* Holland, Steve. ''Badger Tracks: Exploring the publications of John Spencer & Co.'' Colchester: Underworld Studios, 1997. A comprehensive history and bibliography of Badger Books (including but not limited to the titles written by Fanthorpe).

== External links ==
* {{official|url=http://www.lionel-fanthorpe.com}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304223129/http://www.lionel-fanthorpe.com/|date=4 March 2016}}
* {{isfdb name|id= 2161|name= R. L. Fanthorpe }}
* {{IMDb name|1782210|Lionel Fanthorpe}}
* [http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/fanthorpe-lionel/5962 A collection of his talks on Coast to Coast radio]
* [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?R._L._Fanthorpe Full list of his works]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061209122949/http://www.pacifier.com/~dkossy/gal666.html "By the Seven Green Moons of Gongle!" (negative review of ''Galaxy 666'')], by Ken DeVries, in ''[[Book-Happy]]'' No. 4 (1999)

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanthorpe, Lionel}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Open University]]
[[Category:20th-century English Anglican priests]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:English science fiction writers]]
[[Category:English television presenters]]
[[Category:Fortean writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People educated at Barnard Castle School]]
[[Category:People from Dereham]]
[[Category:Ufologists]]
[[Category:Mensans]]