Sunday, December 9, 2012

Our 20th Century Classics List!

Here it is -- after about 2 months of work, scouring the length and breadth of the 20th century to find some of the best out-of-print books and working with agents and estates to secure permissions, we are able to announce the following titles as forthcoming.  Over the next few weeks and months, we'll be blogging about each author and title on the list, so keep an eye out.  In addition to the titles listed, we are presently attempting to get the rights to publish works by Beverley Nichols, Thomas Hinde, David Footman, Russell Thorndike, and others, so check back often for updates:

R. C. Ashby (Ruby Ferguson)
He Arrived at Dusk (1933), introduction by Mark Valentine

Frank Baker
The Birds (1936), introduction by Ken Mogg

Walter Baxter
Look Down in Mercy (1951)

Charles Beaumont
The Hunger and other Stories (1957), introduction by Prof. Bernice Murphy

David Benedictus
The Fourth of June (1962), introduction by the author

Paul Binding
Harmonica's Bridegroom (1984), introduction by the author

John Blackburn
A Scent of New-Mown Hay (1958), introduction by Prof. Darren Harris-Fain
Broken Boy (1959), introduction by Prof. Greg Gbur
Blue Octavo (1963)
Nothing But the Night (1968)
Bury Him Darkly (1969), introduction by Prof. Greg Gbur
The Household Traitors (1971)
Our Lady of Pain (1973)
A Beastly Business (1983), introduction by John Pelan

Thomas Blackburn
The Feast of the Wolf  (1971), introduction by Julia Blackburn

John Braine
Room at the Top (1957), introduction by Prof. Janine Utell
The Vodi (1959)

Basil Copper
The Great White Space (1974)
Necropolis (1980)

Ronald Fraser
Flower Phantoms (1926), introduction by Mark Valentine

Stephen Gilbert
The Burnaby Experiments (1952), introduction by Patricia Craig

Claude Houghton
I Am Jonathan Scrivener (1930), introduction by Michael Dirda
This Was Ivor Trent (1935), introduction by Mark Valentine

Gerald Kersh
Nightshade and Damnations (1968), introduction by Harlan Ellison

Francis King
To the Dark Tower (1946)
Never Again (1947), introduction by Robert Khan
An Air that Kills (1948), introduction by the author
The Dividing Stream (1951), introduction by Paul Binding
The Dark Glasses (1954), introduction by Jonathan Fryer
The Man on the Rock (1957)

C.H.B. Kitchin
Ten Pollitt Place (1957), introduction by Prof. Simon Stern
The Book of Life (1960), introduction by Francis King

Hilda Lewis
The Witch and the Priest (1956), introduction by Alison Weir

Kenneth Martin
Aubade (1957), introduction by the author
Waiting for the Sky to Fall (1959), introduction by the author

Michael McDowell
The Amulet (1979), introduction by Poppy Z Brite

Michael Nelson
Knock or Ring (1957)
A Room in Chelsea Square (1958)

Oliver Onions
The Hand of Kornelius Voyt (1939), introduction by Mark Valentine

Dennis Parry
Sea of Glass (1955), introduction by Simon Stern

Robert Phelps
Heroes and Orators (1958), introduction by Michael Dirda

J.B. Priestley
Benighted (1927), introduction by Orrin Grey
The Other Place (1953), introduction by Prof. John Baxendale

Forrest Reid
At the Door of the Gate (1915), introduction by Andrew Doyle
The Spring Song (1916), introduction by Mark Valentine

John Wain
Hurry on Down (1953), introduction by Prof. Nick Bentley
The Smaller Sky (1967), introduction by Prof Alice Ferrebe

Hugh Walpole
The Killer and the Slain (1942)

Keith Waterhouse
There is a Happy Land (1957)
Billy Liar (1959), introduction by Prof. Nick Bentley

Alec Waugh
The Loom of Youth (1917), introduction by Simon Stern

Colin Wilson
Ritual in the Dark (1960), foreword by the author, introduction by Colin Stanley
Man Without a Shadow (1962), introduction by Colin Stanley
The World of Violence (1963), introduction by Nicolas Tredell
The Philosopher's Stone (1969), introduction by Colin Stanley
The God of the Labyrinth (1970), introduction by Gary Lachman

P.G. Wodehouse
Psmith in the City (1910), introduction by Prof. Douglas Kerr


The first two titles in the series, Stephen Gilbert's The Burnaby Experiments and John Trevena's Sleeping Waters, are now available, and the rest will be published throughout 2013.  Don't miss out on any of these great titles!

13 comments:

  1. A very interesting list, though I was wondering if there is any chance of Valancourt publishing anything by Algernon Blackwood? He fits your interest in weird/supernatural fiction, and despite being lauded by H.P. Lovecraft as one of the 'modern masters' of supernatural horror, nearly all of his works are out of print except for a few print-on-demand editions. His short story collection 'Tongues of Fire' - said to be one of his best works - hasn't been reprinted since 1929. I personally think he would make an excellent addition to this 20th century classics collection. An affordable version of Arthur Machen's 'The Green Round' would be much appreciated as well!

    Please keep up the good work. I really admire what you're doing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for your message. We have been looking into Blackwood; he's definitely someone that would be of interest for our list. We're working on an edition of some of Machen's 1890s short fiction, but I'm not familiar with 'The Green Round' -- I'll check into it. Thanks for the recommendation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am soooo excited about all these upcoming releases, especially Fraser's "Flower Phantoms"! I cannot wait to see what other literary goodies you will soon be unleashing upon this world! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, we have about 20 more books still in negotiations, and some of them are pretty exciting -- if we can work out the arrangements with the estates, we'll update more soon!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Is there any possibility that you could look into publishing some Vincent O'Sullivan perhaps?

    ReplyDelete
  6. We can take a look -- any recommendations of his?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I do indeed have a recommendation! Ghost Story Press released a compendium of his supernatural tales several years ago, "Master of Fallen Years", which has become quite scarce and prohibitively expensive.

    http://www.brainwashed.com/c93/htdocs/books/mofybook.php?site=c93

    I do believe, from what I have read of his work, that it will appeal to several of your readers, and there is definitely a demand for some of his work to be re-published!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good selections for Colin Wilson. However, might I also suggest his novel about murder, "World of Violence" (published in the U.S. as "The Violent World of Hugh Greene")? It is also one of his best.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, I just finished reading Ritual in the Dark and really enjoyed it, and am planning on checking out some of his others. I will take a look at that one.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Does Valancourt Books have any interest in Gabrielle Margaret Vere Long, who wrote under the pseudonyms Marjorie Bowen, Joseph Shearing, George R. Preedy, and Robert Paye? Many of her gothic/sensation novels merit republication.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes, we do. We were looking at her book BLACK MAGIC. Are there others we should have a look at?

    ReplyDelete
  12. "The Shadow on Mockways" may interest you. Here is a link to a facsimile of the dust jacket: http://www.facsimiledustjackets.com/cgi-bin/fdj455/5895. Other novels that would fit the Valancourt bill include "Moss Rose", "Laura Sarelle", "The Leopard and the Lily", "Aunt Beardie", and "The Fetch".

    ReplyDelete
  13. You know "Death Is A Star" by Agnès Michaux, Anton Lenoir was enormously popular and now it seems to have disappeared! A digital re-issue would be most excellent!

    ReplyDelete