|
Post by cauldronbrewer on May 17, 2014 15:52:22 GMT
Thanks guys My copies - only two - arrived the other day. I thought they did a nice job on the cover. I'm reprinting the three earlier Australian anthologies - Australian Gothic, Australian Nightmares and Australian Hauntings - with Borgo, so they should become more widely available, and cheaper. I started reading this last night, and so far I'm two stories into it (not counting the highly informative introduction). No argument here that "The Lady Ermetta" is "somewhat exhausting," but "My Story" made for a fine opener--it's an agreeably doom-laden tale of post-mortem mesmerism.
|
|
|
Post by jamesdoig on May 17, 2014 22:23:53 GMT
I started reading this last night, and so far I'm two stories into it (not counting the highly informative introduction). No argument here that "The Lady Ermetta" is "somewhat exhausting," but "My Story" made for a fine opener--it's an agreeably doom-laden tale of post-mortem mesmerism. Yes, he's a bit under-appreciated, probably because most of his stuff was published in Australia. I really like the shorter pieces he wrote for the Bulletin - they show how difficult life was like for Europeans living out in the middle of nowhere, and the supernatural elements are well done.
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on May 21, 2014 18:46:22 GMT
I really like the shorter pieces he wrote for the Bulletin - they show how difficult life was like for Europeans living out in the middle of nowhere, and the supernatural elements are well done. I'm into that part of the book now, and I agree; the short pieces are fascinating in how they capture life in the "Never-Never." I particularly liked "The Last of Six." With the harsh, remote setting and often bleak worldview, Favenc seems somewhere between an Australian Ambrose Bierce and an Australian Jack London. You weren't kidding in the introduction when you warned readers of the racism reflected in some of the tales. "Doomed" is an interesting case of this.
|
|
|
Post by jamesdoig on May 21, 2014 21:47:00 GMT
You weren't kidding in the introduction when you warned readers of the racism reflected in some of the tales. "Doomed" is an interesting case of this. Yes, Doomed is pretty offensive - raises the issue about whether that sort of thing should be sanitised for modern readers, but it's a product of its time, warts and all.
|
|
|
Post by cauldronbrewer on May 21, 2014 23:05:31 GMT
Yes, Doomed is pretty offensive - raises the issue about whether that sort of thing should be sanitised for modern readers, but it's a product of its time, warts and all. I think going with the unsanitised original is the right call--better to deal with the unpleasant parts of the past than to pretend they never existed. Having said that, it can be useful to recognize and contextualize those parts--as you did in your introduction. Favenc's work is worth bringing back into print, warts and all.
|
|
|
Post by pulphack on May 22, 2014 5:28:55 GMT
Absolutely - you ignore the past and rewrite history at your peril. To contextualise it, as James has done, is the only way to show the past truthfully and also acknowledge that things have changed. Start editing and where does it end? There's too much PC rewriting of the past and censoring of old books, films, etc so as not to offend people. If someone can't take something in context, that's actually their problem, not that of everyone else. These things shaped now, and shouldn't detract from the good points of any piece of art or culture. I have a real thing about this, as many politically correct censors would tut at the Bowlderisation of past censors without seeing the similarities. Go figure.
|
|
|
Post by Swampirella on Sept 2, 2017 15:53:19 GMT
Thanks guys My copies - only two - arrived the other day. I thought they did a nice job on the cover. I'm reprinting the three earlier Australian anthologies - Australian Gothic, Australian Nightmares and Australian Hauntings - with Borgo, so they should become more widely available, and cheaper. I started reading this last night, and so far I'm two stories into it (not counting the highly informative introduction). No argument here that "The Lady Ermetta" is "somewhat exhausting," but "My Story" made for a fine opener--it's an agreeably doom-laden tale of post-mortem mesmerism. I'm working my way through this; the earlier stories weren't for me except for Nisbit's "The Old Portrait", but I'm enjoying the more modern stuff, such as Sean Williams' "Passing the Bone".
|
|