In the 1940s, two superbly written books introduced readers in the U.S. and U.K. to life in the village of Ajijic. Both have remained perennial favorites on the must-read lists of anyone interested in Lake Chapala. Village in the Sun and House in the Sun were both written by “Dane Chandos”, who later wrote several travel books.
Dane Chandos was not a real person but a pen name of two distinct writing duos. Peter Lilley and Stansbury (later Nigel) Millett wrote the early Dane Chandos books. After Millett’s death, Lilley’s partner for later Dane Chandos works was Anthony Stansfeld. All three men were well-educated Englishmen with an excellent ear for languages.
Stansbury Girtin Millett was born in London, England, on 23 October 1904.. .
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Cover artist
The cover art has a tiny signature (below). If anyone knows who this cover artist is, or anything more about them, please get in touch!
Signature of cover artist, Village in the Sun.
References
- Dane Chandos. 1945. Village in the Sun. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. Published in London, U.K., with same title by Michael Joseph in 1948. Reissued in London by Country Book Club in 1953. Reissued in Mexico (Tlayacapan Press) in 1998.
- Dane Chandos. 1949. House in the Sun. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. U.K. edition in 1950 by Michael Joseph. Reissued in Mexico (Tlayacapan Press) in 1999.
Comments, corrections or additional material related to any of the writers and artists featured in our series of mini-bios are welcomed. Please use the comments feature at the bottom of individual posts, or email us.
Tony Burton’s books include “Lake Chapala: A Postcard History” (2022), “Foreign Footprints in Ajijic” (2022), “If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s historic buildings and their former occupants” (2020), (available in translation as “Si Las Paredes Hablaran”), “Mexican Kaleidoscope” (2016), and “Lake Chapala Through the Ages” (2008).
4 Responses to “Dane Chandos, part one: Nigel Millett”
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i was wondering if you know who painted the cover of the book.
Thanks, Jill. That is such a great question that I have added a scan of the artist’s signature in the hope that someone somewhere can identify them. Best wishes, TB.
Loving these books by Peter Lilly et al. On my second time of reading now. Found the first one at a book sale and managed to get the rest by searching on line. Thanks for all this info about the authors.
Thanks for the kind words; delighted you’re enjoying the Dane Chandos books.