The Lost Books – of Averoigne
Posted by:
stevereplogle (IP Logged)
Date: 20 August, 2011 01:11PM
Every few years, I reread my favorite Smith stories, often beginning with my personal touchstones, the Ballantine paperbacks edited by Lin Carter. Those were the first I purchased, as a teenager, and they were followed by a number of other paperbacks and (happily) some hardcovers.
Just as often, I regret the loss of an Averoigne volume from Ballantine. I imagine that there are other readers who feel the same way, and who hoped that Donald M. Grant's Averoigne collection would provide a sense of completion. It has been, however, almost twenty years since THE AVEROIGNE CHRONICLES was proposed. It seems that this book has also become "lost."
I can only guess that a twenty-year delay has brought an end to whatever contracts were signed regarding the CHRONICLES. It was hoped that the recent renaissance of Smith publications - especially the exceptional Nightshade hardcovers - would encourage Robert Weiner to complete publication of THE AVEROIGNE CHRONICLES, but apparently that was not the case.
Members of this forum might think I am being overly sentimental, but I would like to gather bibliographic information on these two "lost" books. I think that if we can't have the books themselves, this might offer some compensation for what is so noticeably missing from our library shelves.
I've searched this site (and many years back, posted questions and received some replies). Here is what has been shared.
BALLANTINE'S AVEROIGNE,
EDITED BY LIN CARTER
In this forum, ngchristakos replied to my query (again, this was many years ago!) by writing that Lin Carter's AVEROIGNE proposal was composed in 1977 and reprinted in THE DARK EIDOLON #3. Carter's edition was to include the following: The Maker of Gargoyles, The Holiness of Azederac, The Colossus of Ylorgne, The Beast of Averoigne, The Mandrakes, The Disinterment of Venus, The Satyr, The End of the Story, A Rendezvous in Averoigne, Mother of Toads, The Enchantress of Sylaire, Pages from "The Black Book" and Notes for Unwritten Stories.
I don't have a copy of THE DARK EIDOLON #3, but there are some questions that remain. Does the list, above, present the order in which Carter intended to arrange his edition? Were there any poems that Carter planned to include? I find it hard to believe otherwise, given the approach of his other Smith books. What were the "Notes for Unwritten Stories?" Did Carter plan - again, as we might expect - to include other medieval or European-flavored stories in his collection, such as A Night in Malneant? Finally, does an introduction or afterword for AVEROIGNE exist among Carter's papers?
DONALD M. GRANT'S THE AVEROIGNE CHRONICLES,
EDITED BY RON HILGER
The manuscript was prepared in 1990, and accepted by Robert Weinberg for Donald M. Grant Books in 1991. It was intended to be published as centennial tribute to Smith in 1993, in a format similar to AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. The book was delayed many times as Robert Weinberg seemed to focus exclusively upon publishing Stephen King books.
Production: the book was to have a leather cover with an embossed design on the front, and a full-page color illustration for each story by Fernando Duvall. Later, it was reported that Thomas Canty was providing illustrations.
Other Features: there was to be a map, an introduction by Gahan Wilson, and an afterword by Donald Sidney-Fryer. Ron Hilger wrote: "I wished that Lin Carter had been able to include the projected Averoigne series with the other CAS titles Ballantine published; THE AVEROIGNE CHRONICLES is dedicated to Lin Carter for this reason."
Order of Stories: in this forum, Jim suggested that A Night in Malneant be included as an epilogue, especially as the "old-world city" atmosphere seemed to fit the 18th century. Ron Hilger responded: "If you compare it to the first tale in the series, The Maker of Gargoyles, they both seem to be set in a similar time period, both having inns and cathedrals at approximately the same level of civilization. It could have gone either way, but I really liked ending the series with The End of the Story, and in the end that is what decided the matter."
Editorial: Ron Hilger wrote that he considered changing The Beast of Averoigne by substituting the original version for the Arkham version. He did not pursue revision out of concern that it might delay the publication further.
Poems: "Averoigne" from the collection THE DARK CHATEAU, "The Dark Chateau" itself, "Amithaine," "O Golden-Tongued Romance," "Song of the Necromancer," and also the prose poems "In Cocaigne" and "The Broken Lute." Ron Hilger wrote: "The poems contain strong mediaeval themes and were chosen to reflect favorably on the stories in whose proximity they appear. Thirteen poems allow for a poem between every tale and ending with Lovecraft's fine tribute to Smith, "Lord of Averoigne."'
The most recent news from Ron Hilger in this forum was shared in 2007: "Work on the remaining details (mostly artwork by Tom Canty and interior design work) has begun again the last few months. Very little remains to be done except the actual printing."
This is a lot of information, but there are still some unanswered questions. What exactly were the stories to be included, and in what order? Would the order correspond to the internal chronology posted in this forum by Boyd Pearson, which was in turn adapted from Cockroft's article in NYCATALOPS #7? We have the titles for eight of the thirteen poems, but what were the others?
In my imagination, there's a small Ballantine paperback of AVEROIGNE with a beautiful cover by Gervasio Gallardo. Inside, there are Carter's notes, entertaining and informative (and occasionally self-important). On the same shelf, there's a beautiful leather-bound hardcover from Donald M. Grant, with Thomas Canty's artwork, very different from Gallardo of course, but just as expressive.
In this reality, I'd appreciate help in creating a more complete bibliographic picture of these two lost books.
- Steve