15/06/2026
From the beginning, Holmanās has always supported local authors. In the first half of the twentieth century, two such authors were Leo Walmsley and Storm Jameson.
Many of Walmsley's books are autobiographical, the best known being his Bramblewick series set in the Bay, with Whitby appearing as Burnharbour.
In 1935 J. Arthur Rank released his first feature film Turn of the Tide based on Walmsleyās 1932 book Three Fevers.
Today, his books are published by The Walmsley Society and continue to be stocked by Holmanās š
Storm Jameson became a central voice in twentieth-century literature, publishing 48 novels, three autobiographies and several plays. Three of her novels, āThe Lovely Shipā, āThe Voyage Homeā, and āA Richer Dustā are a trilogy about the history of a shipbuilding family, no doubt based on her own in Whitby.
Jameson was President of the English branch of PEN International from 1938 until ill-health forced her to retire in 1944. During the Second World War she set up a fund to save refugee writers trapped in Europe. Jameson wrote the introduction to the 1952 British edition of āThe Diary of Anne Frankā. She remained an active member and PEN International Vice President until her death in 1986.
For many yearās Jamesonās books had been missing from Holmanās shelves. But in 2025 her 1969 autobiography, āJourney from the Northā, was reprinted and is once again available from Holmanās.
Also look out for the brand new edition of āThe Moon is Makingā, a bleak, unsettling and psychologically charged novel set in Whitby. First published in 1937, it is due for release this summer š āļø
