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Post by johnnymains on Sept 6, 2020 13:46:25 GMT
Hudson & Kearns Ltd for G.T. Foulis & Company (1926)
CONTENTS
The Ferry of Souls
A Garden of Dreams
The Picture
The Sea Child
The God in Exile
The Ship of Desire
The Were-Wolf
The Moorland Stream
The Payment
Mirage
Aphrodite
The Place of Haunting Sorrows
Autumn
The Child in the Fields
The Monk’s Vigil
A Proselyte
The Return I
The Return II
THE FERRY OF SOULS - "Once, every now and then this ferry has unseen passengers." A green round the ears apprentice is shown the ropes by an aging ferryman. He's told that his body will be taken over by souls who wish to cross the river, but the young 'un foolishly thinks the old man is losing his marbles. When the lad finds himself in charge, he finds out that the dead are indeed restless.
A GARDEN OF DREAMS - A man reflects on a garden he used to visit in childhood, where he believed statues of Cupid and a nymph would come to life.
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Post by johnnymains on Sept 6, 2020 17:07:44 GMT
THE PICTURE - An old woman in her fishing village cottage looks at a painting that was done of her when she was much younger. She has never wed nor had children and her life is filled with loss. Her door is knocked, the first time in what she thinks is years. The door is knocked on again, she opens it to a man who is as old as she is. He is looking for Annie Trecarrow. Annie, the old woman lies to him that "she is most likely dead." He is revealed to be the artist responsible for the painting, but Annie cannot forget his ego and he leaves without ever discovering the truth.
THE SEA CHILD - A young fishing boy (I think just under 12) finds a "girl-baby" on a deserted stretch of shore and takes her home to his parents. As he becomes a teenager and she grows up they become as thick as thieves -visiting hard to get to coves in his boat - but the boy is always scared that she might be reclaimed by the sea at any moment. Those fears in turn become more impassioned as she becomes a teenager - he then fears that she might be taken by another suitor. But they fall in love and are to be married - and on the day of the wedding she asks for one token from him that she is free and asks to row a boat out into the sea. It's not going to end well for either of them.
THE GOD IN EXILE - Another fishing lad, tranforms from boy to teenager. Visions of nakedness, Greek deity-ness etc. It's more than a bit noncey.
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Post by johnnymains on Dec 8, 2020 9:31:34 GMT
THE WERE-WOLF Young man and his dog are trying to make it to the next town before dark. They fail and all around the man can hear the baying of wolves. Taking an educated guess he goes off track and finds a house with a woman living alone. He's allowed to stay for the night on the order that the dog be tied up outside. Not wanting the dog (who does not like the woman one bit) to become wolf fodder the man refuses. The woman allows the dog to be tied up in a back room. The woman feeds the man and gives him something to drink. She says she's not hungry, having already supped. The young buck is captivated by the woman and thinks about doing the naughty, but is too much of a gentleman. He falls asleep in front of the fire and when he awakes he sees her steal into the room naked. His fire is up, they kiss, it all goes horribly wrong. How is the lad going to get out of this pickle?
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Post by helrunar on Dec 8, 2020 13:59:05 GMT
Arthur L. Salmon was a professional author of numerous travel guides, especially for various byways of the West Country (a term which always makes me think of Hugh Lofting's Dr Dolittle books). www.irishfamilyhistorycentre.com/store/434The stories sound interesting. Are you enjoying them? cheers, H. |
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Post by johnnymains on Dec 8, 2020 14:31:48 GMT
Yeah, some of them are written really well. I'm a fan of Salmon's and will be aiming to bring out THE FERRY OF SOULS with some excerpts from TALES OF THE WEST COUNTRY, HAUNTED, in the next few years - am working on collecting as much biographical info as I can on him - and as I'm in the areas he stomped around in, I've got access to the libraries and Universities where his stuff is kept.
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Post by helrunar on Dec 8, 2020 15:07:33 GMT
That's an intriguing project, Primrose Hildebrand. I look forward to hearing more!
cheers, H.
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Post by johnnymains on Nov 7, 2022 15:09:58 GMT
Well, it took a couple of years, but we got there in the end - and you get not one Salmon collection, but two - and also two 'lost' stories. It's been a pure joy to work on this book. Tartarus (Nov 2022)
CONTENTS
Introduction by Johnny Mains,
The Ferry of Souls: ‘The Ferry of Souls’, ‘A Garden of Dreams’, ‘The Picture: A Tale of a Cornish Village’, ‘The Sea Child’, ‘The Gods in Exile’, ‘The Ship of Desire’, ‘The Were-Wolf’, ‘The Moorland Stream’, ‘The Payment’, ‘Mirage’, ‘Aphrodite’, ‘The Place of Haunting Sorrows’, ‘Autumn’, ‘The Child in the Fields’, ‘The Monk’s Vigil’, ‘A Proselyte’, ‘The Return I’, ‘The Return II’, Two Poems: , ‘Pleading’, ‘Circe’,
Waysides & Byways: Studies of Loneliness, 1. The Old Road’, ‘II. The Dreamer’, ‘III The Lake’, ‘IV. The Wind on the Heath’, ‘V. The Light’, ‘VI. The Dancing-Floor’, ‘VII. On the River’, ‘VIII. A Way of Escape’, ‘Father Paul’, ‘The Novice’, ‘The Musician’, ‘False Dawn’, ‘ “A Cameron” ’, ‘ “For the Fallen”: A Sketch in Dialogue’, ‘The Beasts that Perish’, ‘The Doctor’, ‘ “They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships” ’,
Additional Stories: ‘Calling the Dead’, ‘The Horror’,
Appendix: ‘A.L. Salmon: A Bibliography’.
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Post by weirdmonger on Nov 7, 2022 16:57:08 GMT
Well, it took a couple of years, but we got there in the end - and you get not one Salmon collection, but two - and also two 'lost' stories. It's been a pure joy to work on this book. Tartarus (Nov 2022) CONTENTS Introduction by Johnny Mains,
The Ferry of Souls: ‘The Ferry of Souls’, ‘A Garden of Dreams’, ‘The Picture: A Tale of a Cornish Village’, ‘The Sea Child’, ‘The Gods in Exile’, ‘The Ship of Desire’, ‘The Were-Wolf’, ‘The Moorland Stream’, ‘The Payment’, ‘Mirage’, ‘Aphrodite’, ‘The Place of Haunting Sorrows’, ‘Autumn’, ‘The Child in the Fields’, ‘The Monk’s Vigil’, ‘A Proselyte’, ‘The Return I’, ‘The Return II’, Two Poems: , ‘Pleading’, ‘Circe’,
Waysides & Byways: Studies of Loneliness, 1. The Old Road’, ‘II. The Dreamer’, ‘III The Lake’, ‘IV. The Wind on the Heath’, ‘V. The Light’, ‘VI. The Dancing-Floor’, ‘VII. On the River’, ‘VIII. A Way of Escape’, ‘Father Paul’, ‘The Novice’, ‘The Musician’, ‘False Dawn’, ‘ “A Cameron” ’, ‘ “For the Fallen”: A Sketch in Dialogue’, ‘The Beasts that Perish’, ‘The Doctor’, ‘ “They That Go Down to the Sea in Ships” ’,
Additional Stories: ‘Calling the Dead’, ‘The Horror’,
Appendix: ‘A.L. Salmon: A Bibliography’.
Great! |
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Post by Swampirella on Nov 7, 2022 17:17:25 GMT
These look very intriguing, congratulations on their publication!
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Post by jamesdoig on Nov 7, 2022 22:29:30 GMT
Well, it took a couple of years, but we got there in the end - and you get not one Salmon collection, but two - and also two 'lost' stories. It's been a pure joy to work on this book. Well done, Johnny! Looks like he was quite a prolific author of supernatural tales. |
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Post by johnnymains on Nov 8, 2022 10:36:35 GMT
cheers folks - yeah Salmon's work seems to have been completely overlooked in favour of his South-West travel books - which did a roaring trade back in the day. It could also have been that he wore too many hats and the public didn't really know how to take him.
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Post by helrunar on Nov 8, 2022 18:20:08 GMT
Beautiful books! The blurb for the original edition mentions dignity and chasteness as the hallmarks of his work, neither of which have been much in evidence since around 1965 in our cultures. I hope the stories can find a new audience--it's been interesting to see what has been emerging on what we are told are the "fringes" of the mainstream (I always found the mainstream too damn drafty and banal for my temperament).
cheers and congrats,
Hel.
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