The Lion and the Unicorn

By Richard Davis

This early work by Richard Harding Davis was originally published in 1899 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Lion and the Unicorn' is a collection of short stories that include 'The Vagrant', 'On the Fever Ship', and 'The Last Ride Together'. Davis attended Lehigh University and Johns Hopkins University, but was asked to leave both due to neglecting his studies in favour socialising. During the Second Boer War in South Africa, Davis was a leading correspondent of the conflict. He saw the war first-hand from both parties perspectives and documented it in his publication 'With Both Armies' (1900). He wrote widely from locations such as the Caribbean, Central America, and even from the perspective of the Japanese forces during the Russo-Japanese War. Davis died following a heart attack on 11th April, 1916, at the age of 51.

• Language: English
• Publisher: White Press
• Release date: Oct 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781473396487

Richard Davis

Richard Davis was born and educated in Melbourne and now lives in Queensland. He was encouraged in his writing by Alan Marshall, Ivan Southall and later, Nobel prize-winning author Patrick White. Richard pursued a successful career in commerce before taking up full-time writing in 1997. Since then his published works have included three internationally acclaimed biographies of musicians: Geoffrey Parsons - Among Friends (ABC Books), Eileen Joyce: A Portrait (Fremantle Press) and Anna Bishop - The Adventures of an Intrepid Prima Donna (Currency Press). The latest in this series is Wotan’s Daughter - The Life of Marjorie Lawrence.

Reviews for The Lion and the Unicorn

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not bad, not exciting. A collection of short stories; many of them are romances (boy meets girl, trouble, HAE). Each was pleasant to read (ok, _most_ of them were pleasant to read), none stand out in my memory. The Picture was interesting, though I hope his experiment doesn't put him off all women, and it was amusing how he could surprise himself with her words - with what he thought would be her words. The one about Cuba was depressing. The last one, about the young man who ran away, was headed for bland sweetness - then took an abrupt turn into nearly-depressing. But he made a good choice at the end. I wish, though, that he didn't so casually dismiss what he'd built - it wasn't all he could do, but it wasn't despicable. The Fever Dream was another with very striking language. I enjoyed reading it, and I'm completely uninterested in reading it again. I might look for more by Davis, but I'd avoid another collection like this one - one after another blurs into dullness, for me.