Publications Publications
Publications: Books
Drury Lane Journal: Selections from James Winston's Diaries: 1819-1827.
London: Society Theatre Research, 1974 (with A. L. Nelson).
"Next Week--East Lynne:" Domestic Drama in Performance 1820-74.
Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1977.
The Drakov Memoranda. NY: Avon Books, 1979
World Folktales: A Scribner Resource Collection. NY: Scribner, 1980
(with Atelia Clarkson).
A Hanging at Tyburn. NY: Atheneum, 1983.
De galg op Tyburn. Amsterdam, Holland: Van Goor Jeugdboeken, 1985.
(Dutch translation of the above)
Catenary Exchange. NY: Avon Books, 1983.
Berlin Fugue. NY: Avon Books, 1985.
Mystery at Loon Lake. NY: Atheneum Books, 1986.
Terror Train. NY: Atheneum Books, 1987.
The Adelphi Calendar 1806-1850. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1989.
A Witch Across Time. NY: Atheneum Books, 1990.
The Adelphi Calendar 1850-1900. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1993
Mystery at Loon Lake. NY: Aladdin Books, 1993 (paperback)
Terror Train. NY: Aladdin Books, 1994 (paperback)
Publications: Articles
"At Work and Play--Television in the Lives of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing," Volta Review 69 (Mar 1967), 203-07.
"Charlotte had no Profession," Bronte Society Transactions, 155,3 (1968), 252-54.
"Television News for the Hearing Impaired," Volta Review, 71,9 (Dec. 1969). 542b-c.
"Farewell to Hoffman?" Bronte Society Transactions, 15,5 (1970), 412-16.
"The Drury Lane Portico, 1820," 19 Century Theatre Research, 1, 2 (Sept. 1973) (with A. L. Nelson).
"E. J. Longley and the Editorship of The Theatric Tourist," Theatre Notebook, 28,2 (1974), 52-57 (with A. L. Nelson).
"Aut Caesar Aut Nullus: Edmund Kean's Articles of Agreement, 1825," 19 Century Theatre Research, 2, 2 (Autumn
1974), 63-74 (with A. L. Nelson).
"Letters of a Theatrical Scene-Painter," Theatre Notebook, 30, 2 (1976), 91-92.
"A Case of Unassigned Authorship: James Winston's Perseverance, 1802)," Educational Theatre Journal, 30, 2 (May
1978), 229-31 (with A. L. Nelson).
"'If These be Truths, Farewell to Falsehoods': James Winston's Pedigree," Theatre Notebook 34,1 (1980), 14-18
(with A. L. Nelson).
"A Bronte Reading List," in Bronte Society Transactions (1990) (with Meredith Klaus)
"The Adelphi Calendar: A Race Against Time," Nineteenth Century Theatre, Spring 1994, 114-16.
Publications: Major Reviews
The Art of Charlotte Bronte in Bronte Society Transactions (1971), 56-57
Sad Nun at Synanon in Western Review (Winter, 1971), 63-64.
Emily Bronte: A Biography in Western Review (Winter, 1972), 69-70.
The Theatrical Manager in England and America in 19 Century Theatre Research. (Autumn 1973), 133:34.
An Enigma of Brontes in Bronte Society Transactions (1974), 307.
Dramatic Theory and Criticism in 19 Century Theatre Research (1975), 1929.
Elliston in 19 Century Theatre Research (Autumn, 1976), 123-24.
Queen Victoria Goes to the Theatre in Theatre Journal (Dec 1979), 557-58.
Byron Tonight in Victorian Studies (Winter 1984), 244-245.
Playbills and Programmes from London Theatres 1801-1900 in 19 Century. Theatre Research (June 1985),
BOOKS: SUMMARIES AND REVIEWS
Drury Lane Journal: Selections from James Winston's Diaries 1819-1827
(London: Society for Theatre Research, 1974)
This book, co-edited by Professor Alfred L. Nelson, is a scholarly edition of the secret diaries of James Winston, acting manager of Drury Lane Theatre. His employer, Robert William Elliston, was a famous actor, especially in comedy. At this time great actors and singers strode the boards of Drury Lane Theatre: Edmund Kean, Joe Munden, Madame Vestris, John Braham, Michael Kelly. Yet behind these triumphs lay an incredible background of drunkenness and whoring, egocentric jealousy, extravagance, bankruptcy, madhouse and the pauper's grave. The transcription of the journals was particularly difficult--the writing is virtually illegible for long passages; abbreviations are used, and a cipher is employed in places where Winston made particularly critical comments.
Next Week--East Lynne: Domestic Drama in Performance, 1820-1874
(Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1977)
This book on domestic melodrama and its staging won the Barnard Hewitt Award for "outstanding contribution to theatre history." This prestigious award is given annually by the American Theatre Association. "Next Week--East Lynne" is the only full length treatment of the precursor of modern drama.It begins with the first native domestic drama--William Moncrieff's The Lear of Private Life (1820)--and concludes in 1874 with T. A. Palmer's historic version of East Lynne. Besides examining theatre conditions in the nineteenth century, the book is concerned with three main areas. The first of these includes the observable characteristics of the genre: situation, character, setting and spectacle. Attention is also paid to character stereotypes. The second area of focus is that of the dramas in performance and their manipulation of audience response by conventions of costume, make-up and gesture. Finally there is an analysis of the subject matter of the plays as it reflects contemporary standards.
The Drakov Memoranda (NY: Avon Books, 1979)
This work of fiction was published under the pen name J. C. Winters. Konstantin Novetsky, retired member of Russian military intelligence, now lives in London and tends his prize roses. What then could cause him to ally himself with Neville Conyers, unwilling member of Britain's MI5.? Only one man knows all the secrets, the deceptions, the diabolical motives--Anton M. Drakov, of the KGB. Only this patient spider in his world-wide web, knows the truth. It was he who wrote the initial memorandum that set in motion an insane mission involving a beautiful Russian whose body was her weapon, a maverick American air force general, and an invasion to conceal an even greater outrage. Action moves swiftly from Moscow to East Berlin, to London and ultimately to an innocent looking rest home in the Buckinghamshire countryside. This is a topical story of non-stop action. There are frequent and unexpected twists and turns. The climax is a total surprise, and only then does Drakov's diabolically clever, incredibly lethal plot come to fruition.
Sequels were published in 1983 and 1985 (see below).
World Folktales: A Scribner Resource Collection (NY: Scribners, 1980)
In cooperation with Atelia Clarkson, I published an edition of sixty-six folktales with commentaries on how to read and enjoy them--whether in the classroom, library, or in front of a good fire. world Folktales attempts to bridge the gulf between folklorists and children's literature specialists. For scholars, there is an analysis of each tale with its history and migration, major themes and motifs and comparisons with variants. There is a wealth of reference material in the form of indexes, and a lengthy bibliography. The tales are grouped according to their focus--magic, domestic, fairy, animal, witch, formula, trickster, morality, origins, and simpleton. They are representative of the major cultural areas of the world. All the important nineteenth and twentieth century collectors are included: Grimm, Asbjornsen, Jacobs, Djurklo, Crane, Croker, Dorson, Courlander, to name a few.
Catenary Exchange. NY: Avon Books, 1983.
The second part of the Dreakov trilogy.
A Hanging at Tyburn. NY: Atheneum Books, 1983.
It is 1759 and the small acting troupe "The Sons and Daughters of Thespis" is approaching the village of Astly in the county of Lancashire. Mr. Winstone leader of the company attempts to recoup all with an appearance of the "German Giant". The trick fails and the company is scattered. George Found, a fifteen year old boy goes toward Manchester, but in the early morning fog, falls over the edge of a cliff into the Duke of Bridgewater's canal. George is hired by the eccentric nobleman and, together with the self-taught genius, James Brindley, helps construct the first cross-country canal in England. George's contribution to the Duke's waterway does not pass unnoticed by the evil Lord Strange who holds the navigation rights to the River Irwell. When George devises a revolutionary way to bypass Lord Strange's navigation, the Irwell Navigators frame George forstealing a snuffbox while at Drury Lane Theatre. The young man is condemned to death and taken to dreadful Tyburn jail. Here he meets an old friend, is rescued, and returns in time to see his enemies discomforted and the triumph of the Duke's schemes.
All of the events and many of the characters are historically based. I was born a quarter of a mile from the Bridgewater Canal.
De galg op Tyburn. Amsterdam, Holland: Van Goor Jeugdboeken, 1985.
(Dutch translation of the above)
Adelphi Calendar Project: 1806-1850. (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1989)
Since 1972 I have been co-director of the Adelphi Calendar Project (a division of the London Stage 1800-1900). This theatre calendar is a prerequisite for any full and accurate assessment of the character andscope of the nineteenth century stage. Using a VAX-8650 computer, the editors store data on every verifiable professional performance of drama, opera, ballet, music, song, and variety from 1800 to 1900 at this very important and long-lived theatre. A great deal of information from playbills, programs, posters, newspapers and periodicals, public records, and other published and unpublished sources is included. The authors and genres of all performed works will be identified whenever possible. Data about the theatre, its audiences, policies, managements, and special characteristics are also included.
Ultimately, this calendar and others will serve as the basis for a biographical dictionary of persons connected with the London stage in the 1800s, a bibliography of the acted drama of the century, and a source for further historical, sociological, and linguistic study.
The first part of the calendar was published in 1989. It comprised 6,311 frames of microfiche and a 233 page history and index.
Berlin Fugue. (NY: Avon Books, 1985)
This book completes the Drakov trilogy. A victim of a rocket attack on an El Al plane over Lod Airport is discovered to be more than he appears. After prolonged interrogation, the truth is revealed--the prisoner is Anton Drakov, former head of the Department of Disinformation of the KGB. Drakov refuses to betray his country and this resolve is seized upon by the Israelis as an excuse not to offers him sanctuary. Rebuffed the Russian tells his captors to ask the British to take him in. Joshua Bolivar Davies, Head of Department D, MI5 goes to see Drakov. His journey and the wretched quality of the food on British Air has done little to assuage his temper. He also refuses to take the Russian in. Drakov agrees to tell the Englishman a great secret in return for sanctuary and a promise never to reveal his identity. Unknown to all but Davies, Drakov is a cover for a secret investigation Davies is engaged in to discover a mole buried deep in MI5. This deep penetration agent is patiently destroying the organization from within. Davies sends his Russian adversary into the "Region of Shame" in West Berlin on a search that no one expects him to survive. From Whitehall's inner sanctums to Israeli interrogation cells to Berlin's whore grounds, the players are poised to attack. Losers die...winner takes all.
Mystery at Loon Lake. NY: Atheneum Books, 1986.
This mystery is written for younger children (grades 3-7). Twelve year old Jeff and Nguyen are sure it's going to be a carefree, uneventful summer at Loon Lake while their dad is engrossed in writing a book. Then they discover the entrance to a tunnel and decide to investigate. That's when Jenny Webster gets involved. Her knowledg of local lore and her relentless curiosity spur the boys on, and plunge them all into danger. The tunnel, which reaches five miles from New Hampshire into Canada, is being used by smugglers who mean to keep their activities secret--at any cost!
Mystery at Loon Lake. NY: Aladdin Books, 1993 (paperback)
Terror Train. NY: Atheneum Books, 1987.
This is a sequel to Mystery at Loon Lake. The boys travel across country aboard the AMTRAK superliner, Empire Builder. They have scarcely left Chicago before there is a mysterious accident. A large trunk in the ice-cold baggage car begins to attract the attention of an eccentric mystery novelist who take the boys under her wing. Late at night, they find themselves prisoners in the baggage car, and someone is determined they shall not leave it alive!
Terror Train. NY: Aladdin Books, 1994 (paperback)
A Witch Across Time. NY: Atheneum Books, 1989
Fifteen year old Hannah Cincaid arrives in Martha's Vineyard where she is to stay with her aunt at Stewart's Grove, the great stone house whose origins go back to Puritan times. Gradually Hannah realizes she is not alone in the old wing. Is the house haunted by the unquiet soul of the Puritan girl, Patience Cory, or is the answer more astonishing? Can Hannah be reliving a past life? With the help of her boyfriend, Craig, Hannah sets out to solve the mystery and, at the same time, come to terms with herself.
The Adelphi Calendar 1850-1900. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1993
This completes the Adelphi Calendar.
The entire Adelphi Calendar is now on the Web (1998).
http://www.emich.edu/public/english/adelphi_calendar/
EXTRACTS FROM REVIEWS
Next Week--East Lynne: Domestic Drama in Performance, 1820-1974
(Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 1977. London, England: Associated University Presses, 1977).
Winner of the Barnard Hewitt Award for outstanding research in theatre history, 1977.
"The committee was particularly impressed by the author's excellent writing and documentation, the book's significant information, and its persuasive treatment of a very interesting and important aspect of theatre history."
Dr. Gerald Kahan, Chairman of the Barnard Hewitt Committee
"Offers perhaps the best introduction to mid-19th Century popular English theatre."
Choice
"The author writes pleasantly and enthusiastically. Melodrama is firmly and properly related to existing social and economic conditions, and there is a sensible discussion from a sociological and psychological point of view of melodrama's treatment of women, love, and sexuality."
Educational Theatre Journal
"A major contribution to the scholarship of nineteenth century theatrical and dramatic research. Cross knows his material thoroughly and writes about it persuasively.
Arizona Quarterly
"The admirable texture of Next Week--East Lynne results from Professor Cross's strong sense of social history, respect for evidence, and cognizance of the theatre as a public art which reflects the values of its time and place... He is remarkably well informed."
Michigan Academician
"Cross is clearly at his best exploring the nature, the contradictions, and the importance of domestic drama in its proper historical and sociological context. He has carefully integrated social history into a learned and highly readable examination of the dramatic form. The scholarship is of the highest quality... Cross has produced a most useful addition to studies of dramatic activity in the nineteenth-century, and his observations are supported with a splendid bibliography and detailed index. This book will hopefully stimulate further generic study of popular entertainment."
Victorian Studies
The Drakov Memoranda (NY: Avon Books, 1979).
"a first rate spy story... And you must always remember not to trust anybody...It is a swiftly moving novel that gives plenty of jolts along the way... Drakov is an entertainment which stirs the imagination; you won't want to put it down until it's finished."
West Coast Review of Books
(November 1979)
"Winters has taken a somewhat toned-down version of Fleming's flamboyant characters and plopped them into a plot that has the intricacy of one of Le Carre's--something of a crossword puzzle addict's delight...a deucedly clever and entertaining spy novel."
Ypsilanti Press
(November 25, 1979)
"Cross is a native of Manchester, England, has written two scholarly works on theatre history. There seems to be an insatiable market for espionage novels (as against scholarly texts), and he has a well-written thriller."
Detroit Free Press
(January 27, 1980)
World Folktales: A Scribner Resource Collection (NY: Scribner, 1980)
"Here is a useful gate to the world of the scholars of the folktale...The system of motifs and tale types exhaustively elaborated by the scholars of Helsinki and Indiana over the decade is sketched...the scholarly literature is well listed and introduced, and there are explicit guides...for teachers in school and college classrooms...a reader who loves folktales will find it irresistible. The subject is certainly more accessible here than in the sources to which the book points the devotee. There is a rich bibliography."
Scientific American
[World Folktales] "provides the reader with the most solid worth of any recent collection...stories are all interesting versions selected by people with an ear for distinctive language and an appreciation of the elements that combine in a good story...While this choice of tales alone would make the book a worthwhile anthology, the additional material is what makes it stand out from other collections. Each story is followed by ample notes and comments, written in a spirited manner...World Folktales is the best bridge we have between children's literature and folklore scholarship."
Children's Lit. Quarterly
"Outstanding for its entertainment value, for its scholarship, and for its usefulness in the classroom is World Folktales: A Scribner Resource Collection...Here are over 60 folktales, some familiar, many more fresh to anthologies...to stir the fancy, tease the intellect, and to provide hours of reading and listening pleasure for students of literature of any age, while the historical analyses and lists of tale types, motifs, and parallel stories that accompany each tale are certain to delight folklorists, as well as suggest new avenues of approach to these tales for the classroom teacher... A particularly handsome book, World Folktales shouldn't be missed; it offers an eminent and lasting contribution to the field of literary studies."
Michigan English Teacher
A Hanging at Tyburn. NY: Atheneum, 1983.
"I like this story more than any I have ever read."
Southwest Ohio Young Adult Materials Review Group
"Exciting historical adventure novel."
Boy's Life
"…lively, authoritative...entertaining and suspenseful."
Media and Methods
"This winner has plenty of adventure and thrills, a bit of romance..."
Children's Book Review Service
"As in the novels of Leon Garfield the perilous possibilities of eighteenth-century life and the element of coincidence make the narrative a lively adventure story. Paralleling George's adventures; however, the historical details of eighteenth-century coal mining and canal building...have been successfully integrated into the sum total of the boy's personal experiences."
Paul Heins, Horn Book
"magnificent portrayal of life as it was in the eighteenth century. It is guaranteed to keep Grades Six to Nine readers intrigued and fascinated..."
International Checkpoint
"Cross, born less than a mile from the actual Duke of Bridgewater's estate in England, has utilized his own background and scholarly interests to create an intriguing and richly detailed story."
Michigan Alumnus
"Richly colored with details of English life in the mid 1700s...suspenseful adventure...
Newsday
"Cross has a gift...for helping readers understand what daily life was like in the eighteenth century."
Booklist
"a rousing good story that I can't say anything bad about...full of suspense."
Philadelphia Inquirer
"this will keep readers going till the last mutton-fat candle burns out."
Kirkus Review
Listed on "Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies" (1983).
Catenary Exchange. NY: Avon Books, 1983.
"...great fun. It is also suspenseful and exciting, a worthy successor to The Drakov Memoranda.
Ypsilanti Press
"...enough plots, kidnappings, fights, and daring escapes from East Berlin(and the usual quotient of sex) to keep the reader entertained..."
Kliatt
There's a dash of Le Carre, a dab of Fleming, and it all seems to hang together nicely, thank you.
New York News
"Winters writes with a tone both light and swift although his settings in Moscow prisons and East Berlin are elegantly bleak and dark. The Catenary Exchange is well thought out and makes a good evening'sentertainment.
Drood Review
"Cross/Winters somehow manages to pull it all off amidst humor, intrigue, suspense and non-stop double dealing espionage. James Bond has nothing on Neville Conyers.
Observer and Eccentric
"…whirling chilling espionage smash..."
Brooklyn Record
Mystery at Loon Lake. NY: Atheneum Books, 1986.
"Once you start to read it you will not want to put it down until you finish it."
Clover Park School District
"Filled with close calls and lots of action, this mystery will have the reader on the edge of his/her seat"
George C. Stone Center for Children's Books
"This is fast paced and definitely helps to fill a void of interesting fiction stories for the 10, 11 and 12 year old boy."
Tacoma Public Schools
"Written in a lively style with present day humor, the author develops the mood and setting for an exceptional mystery story."
Omaha Public Schools
[It] "will amply satisfy children who normally are riveted by such tales on television. It supplies the same suspense (without horror), humor, and realistic pre-teen characters."
Zelda Kosh, Washington Times
Terror Train. NY: Atheneum Books, 1987.
"Children will enjoy this very believable mystery story. The descriptions of the train trip are done so well the reader will feel he is on the train."
S. W. Ohio Young Adult Materials Review Group
"a fast paced, entertaining mystery that should keep the readers guessing to the end."
George C. Stone Center for Children's Books
"Wonderfully well-written and hugely entertaining."
New York Daily News
A Witch Across Time. NY: Atheneum Books, 1990."…a haunting novel about the past and the present."
Florida Times Union
"Puritan history and contemporary life are blended to provide an engrossing tale."
Judith Roe--Oklahoma Department of Education
"…compelling and involving."
School Library Journal
"well-realized setting and satisfying resolution…"
Publishers Weekly
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