Night And The City - Tapa dura

Before making his mark as an author, Kersh held various jobs ranging from cinema manager to cook to minder, and at times slept rough. He wasn¹t scared of a fight and carried the scars to prove it, enlisted in the Guards during the Second World War and even attended the liberation of Paris as a correspondent.

While Kersh spent his childhood in the suburbs, he had family connections in Soho, and knew the area well, later setting several novels there, Night And The City being an example. This was turned into a film in 1950 by Jules Dassin, and while Kersh didn¹t appreciate the adaptation starring Richard Widmark, it remains a classic example of British noir. It was later filmed again, this time starring Robert De Niro, this time set in New York.

Other London novels include Prelude To A Certain Midnight, Fowler's End and The Angel And The Cuckoo, but Kersh's work reaches far beyond the capital, and indeed England, as the likes of The Implacable Hunter ­ his version of the story of St Paul ­ prove.

Gerald Kersh died in the US in 1968 after some tough years, largely ignored by the critics and hard-up financially, his health poor, but reviving the sleeve notes of the first edition of The Implacable Hunter, he remains best known for his vigourous, Rabelaisian approach to life'.