Headpress Books Established 1991

Into The Unknown

The Fantastic Life of Nigel Kneale

The only biography of legendary scriptwriter Nigel Kneale, fully revised & updated.

#1 Best Seller in Memoir + Travel

£9.99£25.00

Important Shipping Info

Be aware of our processing and delivery times, which may take up to 3 weeks on some titles.
Also, customers not in the UK or USA please click here before placing an order.

Great Service

Headpress is people

Since the earliest days of British television drama, scriptwriter Nigel Kneale has been a seminal figure. His Quatermass serials for the BBC were a seismic event in the 1950s, before finding international success when adapted by Hammer Films for the big screen. Later TV plays, such as The Road, The Stone Tape and The Year of the Sex Olympics, skilfully blend elements of science fiction and the ghost story. They remain classics and Kneale himself a great influence on popular culture.

Into the Unknown charts Nigel Kneale’s extraordinary career, from his childhood on the Isle of Man, to his fraught days at the BBC, strange adventures in Hollywood, and his status as legend to legions of fans. It draws on a wealth of research and many hours of interviews with Kneale himself, as well as prominent admirers. These include John Carpenter, Ramsey Campbell, Grant Morrison, Russell T Davies, and Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson of the League of Gentlemen.

Written with the co-operation of Nigel Kneale himself, and drawing heavily on extensive interviews with him, this new edition of Into The Unknown — fully revised and updated — features a wealth of previously unpublished material.

A pioneer in science fiction.

People have been riffing off him for a long time.

Nigel Kneale invented popular television.

Posts related to this book

Main Image The Daemons

Doctor Who: The Dæmons

The Dæmons is a Doctor Who adventure in which devils come to life. Discussing the Nigel Kneale influence and its place in weird children’s TV of the 1970s.

More »

Andy Murray

A prolific writer and critic with a particular interest in cult British film and television, ANDY MURRAY programmed the annual Darkness Over Britain screenings at Manchester’s Cornerhouse and was consultant to the BBC4 documentary The Kneale Tapes. He lectures in Film Journalism at the University of Salford.

Into The Unknown

—SHIPPING—

international customers

If you are based in the UK, USA, or any country listed here, please go ahead and place your order on our website. 

If you are not ordering from the UK, USA, or one of the countries listed, please contact us before placing your order for a shipping price. This is to ensure you are charged the most sensible price for delivery, wherever you are in the world.

Click on the link below and send us:

(1) Info and quantity for the item/s you are after;
(2) Delivery details, i.e. Country, State and Postcode

Alternatively, email us with any questions here

Hey! We are making every effort to beat Santa, but under the present circumstances we don't want to disappoint and so cannot guarantee delivery for Christmas. ​