Walter Baxter Walter Baxter ( May 1915 – 25 July 1994 ) was an English novelist , best known for writing two controversial novels . His first novel received very positive reviews . He was prosecuted on obscenity charges after the publication of his second novel , but was acquitted after two trials . He was also a successful restaurateur . Early career . Baxter served in a British outfit during World War II , as commander . The company fought in Burma , retreating to India . Later , he was " aide - de - camp " to Lieutenant General William Slim of the Fourteenth Army . He came back to London after the war and briefly joined his family ' s business , but in September 1949 he decided to pursue a career in writing . A few months later he became a Catholic . He was close to completing his first book when he was presented with an opportunity to volunteer with the Jesuits as a missionary . He performed that work for seven months at a jungle mission station in a remote village about from Ranchi , India . " Look Down in Mercy " . Baxter ' s first novel , " Look Down in Mercy " , published in 1951 , drew on his military experience . Set in Burma and other Far East locations during World War II , it centres on the homosexual relationship between an officer , Tony Kent , and his batman Anson . Although Kent , a British officer stationed in Burma , loves his wife back in England , he seduces a Eurasian nurse . After the brief affair , he feels guilty and hates both the girl and himself . Later , during an especially stressful period , he spends a night with Anson and loses self - respect because of the homosexual act . The officer and the batman are captured after a Japanese attack . Kent initially divulges nothing more than his name , rank and serial number , but after being shown how his fellow soldiers had been tortured , and he is threatened with the same , he reveals to his Japanese interrogator all of the information he knows . After an air raid , Anson is able to escape , also saving Kent . Their relationship resumes , and Kent kills a soldier who has figured this out and tried to blackmail him . After the company has arrived in India , Kent attempts suicide , but when unsuccessful , finds himself happy to be alive , and to be with Anson . " Look Down in Mercy " was hailed as " an uncommonly good first novel " by " Time " magazine , and has been deemed " a pioneering study of gay relationships in a hostile and indifferent world " . A 1956 scholarly journal article , " The Most Neglected Books of the Past Twenty - Five Years " , cited the novel as " very remarkable . . . even as truly great " , but claimed that most American critics had not acknowledged this . " The Image and the Search " . His second novel , " The Image and the Search " , was published in October 1953 . Baxter writes of Sarah , who is very happily married to RAF member Robert . Robert is the ideal " image " alluded to in the book ' s title . After Robert is killed in the war , Sarah embarks on a search for love to match that which she shared with Robert . She takes many lovers , but none can compare to Robert . While in India on business , she encounters Johan , who , although dark , bears a resemblance to Robert . Sarah tries to seduce Johan , but she does not succeed . Her quest for love has been futile . The novel was praised by E . M . Forster as " a serious and beautiful book " . However , a " Saturday Review Book Service " critic wrote that the book ' s theme was intractable and the protagonist was unsympathetic ; this critic also quipped that the heroine ' s climax in her pursuit " sets some sort of a new high in phallic symbolism " . In March 1954 , the " Sunday Express " printed a column in which Max Aitken , Lord Beaverbrook stated that the lesson to be surmised from the book ' s " erotic odyssey " was that " sexual excess can be indulged in with a light heart and a clear conscience " . The column went on to suggest that Alexander Stewart Frere , the chairman of the book ' s publisher Heinemann , should immediately withdraw the book . A week later the " Express " quoted a Heinemann official as saying , " We have not withdrawn the book , it just isn ' t for sale any more . " Heinemann also withheld copies of the book from Putnam ' s , its New York publisher . A representative from Putnam ' s said that " the " Sunday Express " attack has succeeded in having the book banned . We regard this as an extremely unfortunate case of arbitrary censorship . We do not in the least agree with the " Express " position nor Heinemann ' s action . " In October 1954 , Baxter and Frere were put on trial at the Old Bailey , charged under the Obscene Publications Act 1857 for " The Image and The Search " . Baxter released a statement that " my object was a serious portrayal of the vulnerability to evil of any ego - centred personality and the disintegrating effect of sin on such a personality " . Frere also released a statement , saying in part , " I regard Walter Baxter as one of the most gifted writers of this generation , whose powers are not yet fully developed . I feel that the publishers owe a duty to such writers and to the public to ensure that their creative work is not still - born . If it has value and is not deleterious to potential readers , I was , and am myself , satisfied that this book would not harm any readers . " The case was prosecuted by Mervyn Griffith - Jones , who six years later led the unsuccessful prosecution in the case against " Lady Chatterley ' s Lover " . When the jury could not reach agreement after two trials , the defendants were acquitted . Later life . The trials were disheartening for Baxter , and he would not write another book . Christopher Isherwood wrote in 1961 that Baxter " . . . has become a rather tragic self - pitying drunken figure with a philosophy of failure . " Baxter eventually became very successful in his new career as a restaurateur . His French restaurant in South Kensington , called The Chanterelle , was quite influential and highly regarded . Baxter met chef Fergus Provan in 1962 . Baxter and Provan became companions – a relationship which would last for thirty years . Beginning in 1978 , they also had a professional connection , as Baxter retired and Provan took over the running of Baxter ' s restaurant . Baxter died on 25 July 1994 .