What Out-of-Print or Untranslated Works Would You Like to See Reintroduced?

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

It's an amazing world we live in, with the (relative) ease of publishing today, but it still has quite a few authors underrepresented. I mean. the work of small presses has been fantastic, and it's actually something that I'd generally like to do, but I still find authors whose general bibliographies are out of print, and while some of them are in the public domain and could thus be easily manufactured, the cheapness of the means of publishing means you could just as easily end up with a third-rate, poorly transcribed edition in comparison to the care an attention lavished on other titles. That's why I'm skeptical of anything that doesn't necessarily have a well-established publisher - that is, one that has credibility, not something that you can just throw together on CreateSpace. I think a book, especially a "classic" from decades ago that has been rediscovered, should get a quality release with a professional format; the cheaper it is, the less inclined I am to buy it.

As an example, take Wildside Press (http://wildsidepress.com/). This is an independent publisher that's been around since 1989 that specializes in speculative fiction but has broadened its output to several other genres; part of their goal is to keep established authors in print that would otherwise be neglected. Now I definitely intend to get several titles offered by them, but I do have some caveats. You see, when you look a little deeper at them, the presentation varies from passable to subpar - and I hate saying that because I've contacted the owner a couple times and he's been nothing but helpful. It's just that, upon close inspection, I find even those titles that I wish to purchase somewhat lacking, and that's only because I've seen several small publishers that REALLY put a lot of work into their catalog to make them the best that they can possibly be.

Take, as another example, Valancourt Books (http://www.valancourtbooks.com/). They specialize in horror and science fiction that's been unjustly out of print for years, as well as literary, gay interest, and Gothic/Victorian/Edwardian classics of yesteryear. I have several titles by them already, and while I admit to having not read all of them, I've been considerable impressed with the presentation on each one. They're only a two-man group, to my knowledge, but they put so much care and effort into each title that it feels like getting the definitive edition. Now THIS is how I would like to do things!

And then there are others that, while they may not necessarily specialize in one type of book, really put the extra mile into the ones they do have. Let me point out one of my recent purchases: Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, newly translated by swashbuckler specialist Lawrence Ellsworth and distributed by independent publisher Pegasus Books (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1643130404/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I haven't yet reached the 100-page mark yet (due to my own distraction more than the quality of the narrative), but I can tell you already that it's one of the best books I've ever gotten, and I wholeheartedly recommend it as probably the definitive edition of Dumas's classic to get, both for the vibrant translation and the professional layout, plus extra touches like the classic illustrations by Maurice Leloir and notes on the text, plus the information I've gotten through contact that Mr. Ellsworth is working on bringing out new translations of the entire Musketeer Cycle. This could have been done very cheaply, artistically speaking, but this book goes the extra mile to engage the reader at first glance. Sometimes, the cover does really make the book.

So with that being said, as an exercise in curiosity, are there any authors in particular that have fallen mostly out of print that you would like to see get a rerelease in the future? Are there any who today are mostly represented by a single work or two but have a larger corpus that deserves rediscovery? Are there any who have gotten cheap editions but you feel deserve more quality put into them?

Considering my recent talk of historical authors, I have a few of my own.

-C. S. Forester: while Horatio Hornblower remains represented, most of his other work, which I would like to pick up, has been rather ignored, outside of two or three titles, and I'd like to get the chance to try him out further

-Alexandre Dumas: surprisingly, Dumas's prolific output hasn't really reached English shores with the same dedication given to the Musketeer Cycle and The Count of Monte Cristo, which, if my own personal experience is anything to go by, is a crying shame, and I'd like to see the full Dumas get his dues

-Henryk Sienkiewicz: as far as I can tell, only Quo Vadis remains readily available in English-speaking countries, while his other significant works have been left to dry, and I don't think that's fair

-James Fenimore Cooper: similarly, only the Leatherstocking Tales are kept in wide circulation, while his other works, of which there were many, have been forgotten, despite his importance to American letters

-R. D. Blackmore: while I have very little doubt that Lorna Doone deserves to have been never out of print, the remaining works in Blackmore's oeuvre are all but a memory today, and I would like to remedy that

-Victor Hugo: he is remembered today almost solely for The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables, while not only have his other novels fallen by the wayside, but his poetry, for which he is best remembered in France, remains untranslated, and until that situation is rectified, I don't think anyone can say that they have truly experienced the full genius of Hugo

-Walter Scott: only a handful of his Waverley novels is still in print due to the efforts of such publishers as Penguin and Oxford University Press, while the rest of it, as well as his acclaimed poetry, hasn't been given the same attention, which rather does a disservice to so legendary a writer

-William Makepeace Thackeray: he was one of the greatest celebrities of his day, but now pretty much all he's remembered for is Vanity Fair, a classic but still just one book; I'd say he's due for a revival



I've also been thinking of speculative fiction, of which a LOT has fallen out of print or been given less-than-stellar treatment in my own personal opinion. While I would eventually like to point out most of them, here are just several that I find to be rather significant.

-Arkady and Boris Strugatsky: Chicago University Press has done a pretty wonderful job putting out a few of the most significant tiles my the masters of Soviet sci-fi, but a great deal of it is still neglected

-Avram Davidson: pretty much all of his short stories have been allowed to linger in limbo, with nearly all reprint collections out of print now, and while Wildside Press has been pretty fair with his novels, they don't really look like anything outstanding; Prologue Books looks more sophisticated, but they only distribute them in digital, which is a shame

-Christopher Priest: this guy's never been given the due in America that he's gotten in England; some of his most significant titles have been released over here, yes, but others remain stuck over the Atlantic

-David Lindsay: highly acclaimed by many, Lindsay's work has either been all but forgotten or given subpar treatment (the Bison Books edition of A Voyage to Arcturus, listed as the "Commemorative Edition", has a good layout but is rife with unprofessional misprints); I would like to see better

-E. E. Smith: despite being the father of space opera, Smith's corpus has pretty much been quietly swept under the rug

-E. R. Eddison: while The Worm Ouroboros isn't necessarily hard to find, his other work hasn't been given the same treatment, as least in America -- there are some rather recent editions over in the UK that I personally managed to snag copies of and would recommend in a heartbeat if not for the fact that they are UK exclusive and would thus have to be procured through secondhand sources for varying prices

-E. T. A. Hoffmann: despite being one of the most important figures in the development of fantasy, let alone the Romantic movement as a whole, only bits and pieces of his work have been translated and never in complete collections

-Ernest Bramah: his unique brand of Chinoiserie is sorely represented; Wildside Press has a couple titles of varying qualities, but he needs greater discovery

-F. Marion Crawford: he wrote several classics in the annals of fantasy and horror, but he remains pretty much forgotten by today's audiences, despite the efforts of a few

-Fritz Leiber: while a great deal of his work is available in digital format, the physical front is lacking, much to my continuing consternation

-George MacDonald: his fantasy output is quite well represented, but his realist fiction, which Raven recommends, is pretty much forgotten completely, and I don't think that's fair

-H. Rider Haggard: King Solomon's Mines and She have never been treated unfairly, but most everything else has been given short shrift; again, Wildside Press has tried on this front, but I'm not necessarily dying to pick those editions up, as I feel he could do a bit better, although I currently don't have much choice (but don't get me wrong, I greatly appreciate Wildside's efforts to keep him in circulation, though I don't do a good job of expressing it)

-H. Warner Munn: here's an author who's considered a classic by those who've known about him but has been more or less completely forgotten by everyone who cares about fantasy; he really needs greater attention, from what I can pick up

-J. Sheridan Le Fanu: bits and pieces can be found from the master of the Victorian ghost story, but from what I can find, a genuine critical collection of all his short stories remains to be seen; Leonaur Books comes the closest, but I have my reservations

-James Branch Cabell: the Mark Twain of fantasy, otherwise neglected by most everyone else today, Cabell's works have been rereleased by Wildside Press in either insignificant or uniform covers; I appreciate the effort, but if I were to split hairs, I would wish for something far more distinctive

-John Kendrick Bangs: probably the creator of an entire genre (the afterlife or "Bangsian" fantasy), I don't know if anyone remembers him now; he should at least be given a chance

-Jules Verne: here's an author who's potted translation history has continually served him to his detriment; admittedly, publishers like Indiana Wesleyan Press have tried to rectify that situation, but what I would really like to see is for someone to translate the Voyages Extraordinaires straight through under a single banner as the definitive modern editions

-Karl Edward Wagner: in spite of others' efforts, Wagner's work is pretty much limited to expensive collector's editions, when what are really needed are affordable trade/hardcover collections so everyone can experience such a highly regarded figure

-Keith Roberts: once again, Wildside Press has tried to keep his work available, but the presentation varies, which could lead to the wrong impression

-Kenneth Morris: the status of his work being out of print may be more complex than I think, due to not publishing much outside of Theosophical circles, but his fantasy work, which is now no longer in circulation (to my knowledge), is good enough for wider republication

-Lord Dunsany: a few of his novels have gotten wonderful editions, and I admit that Wildside Press has made a definite effort to make his collections stand out, but I still feel that they could use a bit more professional polish

-Manly Wade Wellman: one of the most respected pulp writers, Wellman has mostly fallen by the wayside but is hopefully showing signs of greater attention through the efforts of small publishers like Shadowridge Press; time will tell if that will lead to more releases, and if not, others must step up to do so

-Oliver Onions: aide from a single novel republished by Valancourt Books and a single much-anthologized horror story, this author is all but forgotten today, but based on that little bit, he should get a new appraisal

-Peter S. Beagle: some of his works have fallen out of print, and while new releases and revisions have been tentatively announced, they have failed to materialize, probably due to legal issues from continuing conflict with his original publisher; hopefully, this is rectified within Mr. Beagle's lifetime

-Robert E. Howard: while his major fantasy works seem to be taken care of, his vastly prolific output still remains rather neglected, waiting for someone to collect them definitively

-Sax Rohmer: Titan Press has worked on collecting the complete Fu Manchu stories, but the rest is either left behind or reprinted with varying degrees of quality by Wildside Press

-Thomas Burnett Swann: granted, the Wildside editions of Swann's work (which I believe they currently hold the rights to) look relatively better than most, but it would appear that they have inexplicably stopped releasing new titles, despite the intention to release the entirety of his bibliography

-Ward Moore: the few works published by Moore are also currently Wildside exclusives, and while they too don't look terrible, I still have my doubts

-William Morris: often considered one of the chief progenitors of the modern fantasy novel and a chief influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, Morris's romances are, again, distributed by Wildside, and while I don't have much against them (especially because I don't really have any other options), like Dunsany, first glances lead me to believe that they could do with just a bit more definitive critical presentation



I definitely listed a lot more that I intended to again. Now I gotta say, I REALLY feel bad about being so critical of Wildside Press, considering that they've been so good to me and they at least provide a service to fantasy fans who want to see these works remain in print in some format. Perhaps it's tied up with my desire to be a book publisher in some capacity myself - if I ever had the chance, I would go all out and lavish these titles with all the care in the world. I feel that dedicated readers deserve the best form of a product available. It's something to dream about, I guess.

So if you've ever thought about it, what are some neglected authors and titles that you feel deserve wider recognition?