Book dossier

No blade of grass

by Sam Youd

The Death of Grass From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "No Blade of Grass" redirects here. For the film adaptation, see No Blade of Grass (film). The Death Of Grass Cover of a U.S paperback edition. Author(s) John Christopher Country United Kingdom Language English Genre(s) Science fiction novel Publisher Michael Joseph Publication date 1956 (UK) Media type Print (Hardcover) Pages 231 pp ISBN 0140013008 OCLC Number 16191150 The Death of Grass (aka No Blade of Grass) is a 1956 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel written by the English author John Christopher, the first in a series of post-apocalyptic novels written by him. It deals with the concept of a virus that kills off all forms of grass. The novel was written "in a matter of weeks" and liberated Christopher (a pen name for Samuel Youd) from his day job. It was retitled No Blade of Grass for the US edition as supposedly the US publisher thought the original title "sounded like something out of a gardening catalogue". The film rights were sold to MGM.[1] [edit]Plot summary A new virus strain has infected rice crops in East Asia causing massive famine; soon a mutation appears which infects the staple crops of West Asia and Europe such as wheat and barley, all of them types of grasses (thus the novel's title), threatening a famine engulfing the whole of the Old World, while Australasia and the Americas attempt to impose rigorous quarantine to keep the virus out. The novel follows the struggles of architect John Custance and his friend, civil servant Roger Buckley, as, along with their families, they make their way across an England which is rapidly descending into anarchy, hoping to reach the safety of John's brother's potato farm in an isolated Westmorland valley. Picking up a travelling companion in a gun shop owner named Pirrie, they find they must sacrifice many of their morals in order to stay alive. At one point, when their food supply runs out, they kill an innocent family simply to take their bread. The protagonist justifies this with the belief that "it was them or us." Adaptations A film version, No Blade of Grass, was produced and directed by Cornel Wilde, and released in 1970. In 2009, as part of a BBC Radio 4 science fiction season, the station broadcast a drama in five episodes, based on the novel and narrated by David Mitchell.[2]