Bernard Taylor (author)

Bernard Taylor (author)
Bernard Taylor, (born October 1934 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England) is a British author of horror, suspense and romantic fiction and of true-crime non-fiction. He has written several plays for the theatre, and has also written for television and radio. He has more recently written novels under the pseudonym Jess Foley.
Biography
Born in Swindon, Wiltshire, Taylor studied art at Swindon School of Art before moving to London to study at the Chelsea School of Art, where he was awarded the National Diploma in Design and the Chelsea Diploma. This was followed by a year Birmingham University where he underwent teacher-training. Following this he worked for several years as an illustrator and teacher before moving to the United States where he taught art and English and then went into the theatre, first as a designer, then as an actor. As an actor, he worked on Broadway and in various theatres across the country, later taking up writing as well, including several children's plays which were successfully produced.
Following his return to England, he continued with his acting career, appearing in numerous stage, film and television productions and numerous TV commercials, but concentrating on his writing. His first play, Daughter of the Apaches (which he directed and appeared in), was produced in 1975 at the Queen's Theatre Hornchurch. It won Taylor Thames Television's Most Promising New Playwright award, and he was also seconded as Resident Playwright to the theatre for a year. During this time the theatre produced his second play, Mice on the First Floor, starring Frances Tomelty, and produced several children's plays which he wrote in partnership with Ginnie Hole.
Also in 1975, he wrote his first novel, The Godsend. Between 1976 and 2020 he published eleven novels, numerous short stories and four non-fiction works under his own name, and five novels under the pseudonym Jess Foley. Taylor's four non-fiction works were all shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction Award. Perfect Murder, written with the late Stephen Knight, won the award in 1987. Taylor currently lives in Blackheath, southeast London.
Adaptations
A film version of The Godsend was released in 1980. It was produced and directed by Gabrielle Beaumont, the screenplay written by her husband Olaf Pooley. The plot stayed relatively true to the novel, but the ending was changed completely. The film was not well received, however Cyd Hayman received an award for best actress at the Sitges - Catalan International Film Festival for her role as "Kate Marlowe".
In 1993, Yves Simoneau directed a film version of Mother's Boys which starred Jamie Lee Curtis. With the exception of character names, this film was little or nothing like the novel on which it was based. Many critics felt that Simoneau borrowed from numerous other stalker dramas and attempted to ratchet the action to a feverish pitch in the conclusion. Most critics found Mother's Boys an unconvincing, often over-the-top psychodrama. The film underperformed drastically at the box office, but is available on Region 1 DVD.
Work in television
Bernard Taylor was commissioned to write a sitcom series for the BBC, entitled Maggie: It's Me. The plot revolved around a character named Allie who wanted to change her life, so she dumps her boyfriend to "teach him a lesson" and moves in with her friend Maggie. Frances de la Tour was cast as Maggie, and Rosemary Martin was cast as Allie. A half hour pilot was produced, and aired on 3 May 1977 but the series was never produced.
Books
Horror/Suspense
The Godsend, 1976
Sweetheart, Sweetheart, 1977
The Reaping, 1980
The Moorstone Sickness, 1981
The Kindness of Strangers, 1985
Madeleine, 1987
Mother's Boys, 1988
Charmed Life, 1989
Evil Intent, 1994
Since Ruby, 1999
The Comeback 2016
This is Midnight (collected short stories) 2017
Works of non-fiction
Cruelly Murdered, 1979
Perfect Murder (with Stephen Knight), 1987
Murder At the Priory (with Kate Clarke), 1988
There Must be Evil, 2016.
Works written under the pseudonym Jess Foley
So Long at the Fair, 2002
Too Close to the Sun, 2002
Wait for the Dawn, 2004
Saddle the Wind, 2004
No Wings to Fly, 2006
Short stories
(published in various anthologies)
"Forget me Not"
"Our Last Nanny"
"My Very Good Friend"
"Out of Sorts"
"Travelling Light"
"Samhain"
"Cera"
"Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake"
References
External links
Bernard Taylor on Fantastic Fiction
20th-century English novelists
21st-century English novelists
English horror writers
Writers from Wiltshire
Living people
1937 births
Alumni of the University of the Arts London
English male novelists
20th-century English male writers
21st-century English male writers