Bruce Marshall, who died 30 years ago this year, is the forgotten man of 20th-century Catholic letters. The Scottish convert and prolific novelist is nowhere to be found in respected surveys by Ian Ker, Fr Charles Connor and Ralph McInerny, or even in Joseph Pearce’s prodigious Literary Converts. This could be because the critics have concluded that Marshall was no good, but it seems more likely that he has simply slipped from view in a field crowded with giants.
In his time, Marshall’s books sold well: he was published in nine languages and several stories were adapted for film, stage and television. Along with those of Greene and Waugh, his case was once examined by the Holy Office.
