Bloomsbury to re-publish Dennis Wheatley

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Charles
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Bloomsbury to re-publish Dennis Wheatley

Post by Charles »

Dear All,

You will I am sure be pleased to know that Bloomsbury Publishing, through their Bloomsbury Reader, are going to re-publish
56 of DW's titles, starting from October 2013 to tie in with Halloween (and of course with our Convention !).

20 titles will launch on 10 October 2013, with three of DW's most famous works – The Forbidden Territory, The Devil Rides Out, and To The Devil A Daughter also becoming available in paperback.

Thanks to a recommendation from Dominic Wheatley, I've met several of the people responsible for the venture at Bloomsbury, and they seem very nice people.

Let's wish them every success !

To see the Press Announcement, go to http://www.booktrade.info/index.php/showarticle/46339/

Best wishes as always,
Charles
Jim
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Post by Jim »

Hurrah!!!
Cibator
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Post by Cibator »

Remains to be seen, of course, to what extent the texts have been fiddled around with. There's an awful lot of ideas and language in them that would never pass muster nowadays with the Thought Police. Or me, for that matter.
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Darren
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Post by Darren »

Just to clarify - does being published through Bloomsbury Reader mean they are ebooks that you can get via kindle?
Regards,

Darren.
Charles
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Post by Charles »

As I understand it, the answer is 'yes '

... see http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/company/bloomsbury-reader/

Best wishes !
Charles
Steve Whatley
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Post by Steve Whatley »

Well, I suppose this should be good news for anyone who owns one of these Kindle things; but I've had one for fifteen months, and I haven't managed to get the b@$+@¬d to work yet, so it makes no difference to me.[font=Courier New] [/font]
Darren
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Post by Darren »

This might actually be the final push for me to get a kindle. The small print of the Heron books really test the limitation of my eyes.
Regards,

Darren.
Jim
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Post by Jim »

My current computer came with several e-readers preloaded. The only reason I finally installed Kobo (desktop version) was so that I could purchase Tina Rosenberg's essay on DW. So far, I've used it for nothing else...
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Post by ericmocata »

I have a Kindle, but only because a relative of mine upgraded to a fancier model and I got the old one as a hand-me-down. It's a pretty interesting device, but I don't use it much. With the exception of D for Deception, all the stuff I have downloaded was free. I got a bunch of Sax Rohmer, old books about the occult and things of that nature. It is convenient for books that are hard to find.

I do have to wonder, since the last Wheatley release had the altered text and, as Charles mentioned, some of the views expressed in most of his novels are not exactly popular these days, if there are some books that they just won't bother to release in any form. Uncharted Seas comes to mind. I dug it a lot, though it isn't as good as They Found Atlantis and it is such a racist story down to its core. However, I take all of the racist content in context with the time and place in which was written, so it doesn't bother me with old stuff like Wheatley or the aforementioned Mr. Rohmer. If it was somebody writing it these days, it would be a different story. Still, Uncharted Seas struck me as the most blatantly racist of his books, or at least the ones I have read so far.

Maybe they will reprint Saturdays with Bricks. . . .
Charles
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Post by Charles »

When I last spoke to them, their plans were to publish the lot, but I did discuss with them which were DW's worst (as well as which were his best) novels, and I think they may decide not to publish the worst 3 or 4. Uncharted Seas was not in that list.

As for Saturdays with Bricks, it is surely one of DW's most curious books, and I must confess I am strangely fond of it.

You too ?

All best !
Charles
ericmocata
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Post by ericmocata »

Saturdays With Bricks is one of the books I still do not have (I don't have any of his autobiographical books). I have found two or three copies available online, and in decent shape from what I remember. I think they were all from Australia, for some reason. I would still like to have the old version, but if it gets reprinted, it would make things a bit easier, from the perspective of just wanting to read it.

I just hope that whatever kind of cover art they create that it isn't goofy-looking, like the Mandarin covers, for instance.
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Post by Cibator »

Charles wrote: .... they may decide not to publish the worst 3 or 4. Uncharted Seas was not in that list.
Now you've got me curious, Charles. Which ones were in that list? Or did you have to give them an undertaking not to reveal its contents?
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Steve Whatley
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Post by Steve Whatley »

I'm going to predict that the following may not be deemed worthy of re-issue:

Such Power Is Dangerous

Star Of Ill-Omen

The Strange Story Of Linda Lee

I must stress that this does not reflect my personal opinion about the worth of these titles, rather the impression I have as to how they are perceived by others.

The title which I remember enjoying least is probably Unholy Crusade, but that doesn't mean I think it unworthy of re-issue.[font=Courier New] [/font]
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Post by ericmocata »

I have to say that I have generally enjoyed the titles that are usually considered his worst works. Linda Lee is a rather over-the-top story, in my opinion, with a highly predictable ending, but it was rather fun to read. Star of Ill-Omen, though it gave me all sorts of amusing mental pictures, such as bees flying spaceships, bossing a bunch of giants around, still managed to keep me interested. I also don't remember this one featuring his best characters, but I don't think that it really matters. Such Power I had expected to be very boring, as well as Fabulous Valley. Neither seemed great, but were more enjoyable than I expected.

I suppose the fact that I go into those particular titles not expecting much helps out with my experience reading them.

If they do skip a few books, I wonder if that means they will skip the collections. I only have Gunmen, as I have not managed to get Mediterranean yet. Gunmen was unbalanced and I have to assume Mediterranean is as well. Still, Gunmen had some really good material, such as "The Snake".

I think the books I enjoy the least are the Roger Brook novels. For some reason, these just tend to drag too much for me. It is likely the fact that Wheatley has a tendency in those books to turn into Professor Wheatley, Ph D (in history, of course).

By the way, does anybody else picture all of Wheatley's novels, regardless of their publication date, as taking place in the '30s or '40s?
Charles
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Post by Charles »

I'll have to search my memory as - confession of confessions - it was I who compiled the list for them.

I seem to recall 'Star of Ill Omen' was on the list, and possibly 'Curtain of Fear' .... I'll have to see if I kept a note of the others ...

All best !
Charles
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