KERSH, GERALD (1911–1968), English author and journalist of the "tough" school. Kersh was born in Teddington, near London, and began to write stories as a child. He was a war correspondent for the Sunday newspaper The People, and an MGM screenwriter. His works, notable for their fantasy and bohemianism, include the controversial Jews Without Jehovah (1934); They Die with Their Boots Clean (1941); The Thousand Deaths of Mr. Small (1950), a novel of Anglo-Jewish Life; and The Best of Gerald Kersh (1960). His novels about Soho's low-life, like Harry Fabian: Night and the City (1938) still have a cult following. In his last years he lived in upstate New York.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.