Compilations and editorial work

Introductory Note

Terminology is a bit of a problem so far as this section is concerned! It is hoped that the following explanation will help to make sense of what is a slightly complex situation.

Peter has been responsible for seven compilations - although four of them (all but one for the Folio Society in the first instance) could be more accurately described as 'concoctions', two as 'non-concocted' and the last as a bibliographical index.

He has also carried out editorial work on ten books - but two of them are those 'non-concocted' compilation just mentioned, which should not be counted twice.

So we are talking, in all, about fifteen separate books.

At which point, just as the reader is about to abandon hope of making sense of any of this twaddle, it must be added (without delay) that seven of those books are by Thomas Babington Macaulay, that two of them are by Charles Dickens, that four of them (taken primarily from unpublished manuscriptsto a large extent) are by E.W.Hornung, that the fourteenth is by Mary E. Hawker, writing (for much of the time) under the pseudonym of 'Lanoe Falconer' and that the fifteenth is a guide to The Saturday Books.

Read on, and - hopefully! - all will become clear

Macaulay

The Macaulay volumes all relate to that author's famous five-volume History of England, covering the period from 1685 to 1702. In addition to supervising the production of a new edition of those five volumes, Peter has not only provided (primarily from Macaulay's own miscellaneous writings) a new, 'prequel' volume, covering the period from 1485 to 1685, but also a new 'final' volume covering the period from 1702 to 1832 - in effect, completing the scope of the original History as its author intended, by extending it as far as the enactment of the Reform Bill.

"The reader is offered an ingenious combination of Macaulay's History and his essays which bring together the panorama of England in modern times. No greater delight can be spread before us - and a delight which is a profound work of scholarship as well!" - A.J.P. Taylor

To find out more details, press HERE

My Early Times by Charles Dickens, compiled, edited and introduced by Peter Rowland

In effect, a 'restoration' project. Dickens had started to write his autobiography in 1847 and continued to do so in 1848, but he then abandoned the idea and destroyed the manuscript. But his close friend John Forster, the only person to have seen it, reproduced substantial sections of the text in the pages of his biography of Dickens - and some of the material was reproduced by Dickens himself in David Copperfield. Making use of the text that had survived, therefore, and supplementing it by drawing upon the great mound of other autobiographical material generated by Dickens in the course of his career (essays, letters and spoken recollections), it proved possible to substantially re-create something closely akin to the autobiography which he had set out to produce originally.

The text provides an unbroken account of his life from the time of his birth to his twenty-seventh year, told in what are, for 99% of the time, his own words. Editorial emendations are limited, in the main, to the odd linking sentence or the insertion of a few explanatory words. Occasionally, when there is a need for one version of a particular episode to be merged with another, the outcome is a 'concocted' passage. Supplementary Notes at the end of the book supply full details of how such concoctions evolved and the range of sources used.

The Haunted House by Charles Dickens and others [edited by Peter Rowland]

In the interests of psychic research, a group of friends spend Christmas in a house reputedly haunted by a hooded woman and a howl (feathered variety) - and much else besides! Temporarily pledged to silence about whatever strange experiences might befall them, they eventually gather round the fire on Twelfth Night, with an ample store of refreshments at their disposal, to reveal all.

A forgotten compilation by Charles Dickens and five other authors (including Mrs Gaskell and Wilkie Collins), issued as the extra Christmas Number of All the Year Round in 1859, it was now reprinted in its entirety for the very first time - almost 140 years later - and supplemented with a Preface (by Dickens, concocted from his thoughts on the subject of ghost stories) plus an Editorial Note and Afterword (by Peter Rowland).

[ Not to be confused with rival editions subsequently brought out by other publishers.]

What's Where in The Saturday Books: A comprehensive guide and index

Thirty-four Saturday Books were published by Hutchinson between 1941 and 1975, packed with articles, stories and pages of photographs - an elegant treasure-trove of constant delight, judiciously mixing both the old and the new. Its contributors were an elite band of writers, artists and photographers. It was, on the face of things, a glorious luxury readily available for all. But mounting production costs eventually brought it to an end - although a final 'best of' volume appeared as a postscript in 1981. The very first volume totalled 444 pages, but the length of the second (with paper in short supply) was slashed to 274. Thereafter, until the 24th volume, the number of pages fluctuated between 288 and 304. But the remaining ten ran to no more than 256, with the very last one of all dropping to 240. The Saturday Book represented, however fleetingly, all that was best in art and literature, both past and contemporary.

But for those owning them, a constant irritant was the fact that it was almost impossible to locate, at short notice, a particular item or a particular contributor. What's Where in the Saturday Books solved this problem by providing a fairly simple yet virtually infallible index-cum-guide.

The Collected Stories of Lanoe Falconer, edited and introduced by Peter Rowland

Following publication of The Unobtrusive Miss Hawker (see 'Eng. Lit.' section), his biography of Mary Elizabeth Hawker, otherwise known as 'Lanoe Falconer', Peter was responsible for the production of a one-volume paperback edition of every story she had written which had so far been found. Previously she had been known as the author of two best-selling novellas (Mademoiselle Ixe and Cecilia de Noël), five brilliant short stories (published under the title Hôtel d'Angleterre) and a slim volume of wonderful reminiscences entitled Old Hampshire Vignettes. All these are included in Collected Stories, but they are reinforced by eight additional short stories tracked down by Peter, one additional novella (Shoulder to Shoulder) and one additional vignette. They are accompanied by a short series of penetrating Character Sketches, intended for a book (or books) that would never be written, plus an article on how to tackle short stories. Detailed Notes are supplied at the end of the book.

Bearing additional witness to Lanoe Falconer's astonishing range and versatility, this book is a MUST for the growing army of this remarkable writer's growing army of fans.

563 pages; published in the USA by the Academica Press, LLC, 2010.

NOTE Despite the word The appearing in the title of this book (at the publisher’s insistence!), the Introduction made clear that the book did not claim to be any such thing. It acknowledged that there were many other tales which had not yet been located and which might, indeed, never be found. That situation has now changed slightly. Peter is greatly indebted, in fact, to Mr Alan John, who (with a positive genius for treasure-hunting) recently discovered three more of Lanoe Falconer’s short stories — ‘Autumn Gales’, ‘Advice’ and ‘Failure?’ These will be included in any future edition of The Collected Stories. In the meantime, Peter will be happy to email the texts of these stories to anyone who would like to see them.

His Brother's Blood by E.W. Hornung, transcribed, edited and introduced by Peter Rowland

When he died in his mid-fifties, in March 1921, E.W. ('Willie') Hornung was working on a new novel which he was convinced would be the best he had ever written. Six chapters were completed, with perhaps another four or five to come, and the narrative breaks off at an exciting point. A prodigal son, Caleb York, decides to return to the family home after a long absence abroad but discovers - on the verge of entering it - that everyone thinks he is dead. He gathers (partly from his informant, an attractive young lady, and partly from overheard conversations) that very few tears have been shed over his supposed demise and that in due course his much-worthier half-brother will inherit their father's newly-created baronetcy. Extremely bitter and angry, Caleb resolves to return into anonymous exile, never to bother them again, but some terrible things happen before he can do so.

The manuscript of this unfinished novel disappeared for many years, and it was only recently that it re-surfaced among the voluminous papers of Shane R. Chichester, the author's devoted friend and admirer, who died in 1969. (Together with much else, it had apparently been passed to Chichester by Hornung's sister in the early 1940s, and he had probably hoped to publish it if somebody else - Agatha Christie, just possibly - could devise a satisfactory ending.) It is now in the safekeeping of Birmingham University's Cadbury Research Library (item MS127/A/2/1/2), with whom Chichester's papers were deposited by his family in 2003. In addition to transcribing, editing and introducing the text, Peter has supplied some conjectures on how the story might have developed. It need scarcely be added that Peter is very grateful to the Library for allowing him access to the manuscript and to Bernard Hornung, on behalf of the Hornung family, for granting copyright permission for its publication.

111 pages; published by ELT Press in 2015 [ISBN 978-0-944318-73-7], No. 30 in their '1880-1920 British Authors Series', and also an E-Book [UPCC eBook Collections] by Johns Hopkins University Press

Tall Tales and short'uns by E.W. Hornung, compiled and introduced by Peter Rowland

By 1901, in addition to his steady output of novels, E.W. Hornung had written more than fifty short stories. They were published in magazines or newspapers in English-speaking countries throughout the world. Thirty of them subsequently featured in books. The present compilation brings together ten which are virtually unknown to present-day readers and two more which have never been previously published anywhere. (The manuscripts of the latter, 'A Dog and his Day' and 'Cabin-Companions', are housed in the Cadbury Research Library and catalogued as items MS 127/A/2/1/3 and 4 respectively.)

These twelve stories, assembled in largely chronological sequence, demonstrate the development of Hornung's masterly skills and quiet subtlety, both in drama and humour - for he speedily acquired the art of spinning a yarn and holding his reader's attention from the opening paragraph to the last. They are supplemented by the text of a once-renowned comic poem entitled 'The Cricket on the Green', in print again for the first time in one-hundred-and-twenty years, which chronicles an epic encounter between two village cricket teams - the Whizzingham stalwarts and the doughty warriors of Hurry-cum-Up.

229 pages; published by Nekta Publications in 2015 [ISBN 978-1-326-46766-1]

The Graven Image: A Tale of Two Hemispheres by E.W. Hornung, transcribed, edited and introduced by Peter Rowland

Hornung's first novel, A Bride from the Bush, was greeted with acclaim in 1890. The critics were delighted by its freshness and originality but surprised that they had to wait until 1893 for his second one (Tiny Luttrell). It may have seemed that the novelist was resting on his laurels, but he had, in fact, been hard at work in 1891 on an ambitious romance, straddling both England and Australia - and came within a hair's breadth of finishing it.

The Graven Image tells how the engagement between a young couple, David Auburn and Jeanette Burtrand, is abruptly broken off in a cheerless Midland town in England - largely as the result of some crafty manipulation on the part of the girl's mother - but is fated to be renewed on the other side of the world, in the Riverina area of New South Wales. The problem is that, despite an undoubted vital spark between the two principals, which flares into life despite themselves, each now has a totally misguided impression of the other's character: Jeanette faithfully idolises a "graven image", a figure of perfection who is somewhere in the world achieving great things as an artist, while David (in reality, nothing more than Gunbar Jack, a boundary-rider) is unable to decide whether he loathes or still loves the woman who has treated him so callously. It is a sensitive, beautifully wrought narrative with much humour and drama and vivid descriptions of both people and places. (Hornung, drawing upon his own experiences in both countries, evidently saw it as his mission to explain the English to the Australians and vice-versa.) It is heart-breaking that he was unable to finish his tale, especially since it was (in one sense, at any rate) four-fifths complete and contains some of his finest writing. Again, in addition to transcribing, editing and introducing the text, Peter has sought to identify and explain the insurmountable problem which the author had encountered and has outlined how, on one level, the mechanics of the plot could have been set in motion to bring about a happy ending.

Like His Brother's Blood, this is one of the Hornung manuscripts which passed into the possession of Shane R. Chichester in the 1940s and, after his death in 1969, was evidently consigned to a family attic: prior to the twenty-first century, its existence was totally unknown to Hornung enthusiasts. As before, Peter must acknowledge his indebtedness to both the Cadbury Research Library (where the manuscript is catalogued as item MS 127/A/2/1/7) and to Bernard Hornung.

209 pages; published by ELT Press in 2016 [ISBN 978-0-944318-75-1], No. 31 in their '1880-1920 British Authors Series', and also an E-Book [UPCC eBook Collections] by Johns Hopkins University Press

Stingaree Rides Again by E.W. Hornung, compiled, edited and introduced by Peter Rowland

Apart from Raffles himself, Stingaree is the most famous character that Hornung ever created. He is a stylish bushranger, his English origins cloaked in mystery, who operates in New South Wales. His adventures, narrated in ten short stories (most of which appeared initially in The Strand Magazine), were published for the first time in 1905. They delighted thousands of readers at the time and continue to do so in the twenty-first century, as a glance at the internet (and the dozen or so editions of Stingaree currently available) will easily confirm.

Virtually unknown, however, is the fact that in 1917 Hornung started to write a fresh batch of tales, relating Stingaree's subsequent history, primarily for the benefit of a film company. For various reasons the project was abandoned but the batch of stories that he completed are now brought together in book-form for the very first time - and another written somewhat earlier has been added, since (although it does not mention Stingaree specifically by name) it seems to round off the saga very neatly and convincingly.

Peter has supplied an Introduction which traces the history of this character, from the printed page to stage and film, and details his very first appearance (in the mode of a much more villainous character, subsequently airbrushed out of the canon) in a short novel called Irralie's Bushranger. Supplementary notes are also included.

One hundred and eleven years is perhaps a rather long time to wait for a sequel, but it is hoped that the fans of this intriguing character will agree, nevertheless, that it is most definitely a case of "better late than never". (And there is even an opportunity to find out more details about his true identity!)

120 pages, published by Nekta Publications in 2016 [ISBN 978-1-326-63298-4]

Trim and Tim written in conjunction with Matthew Flinders (1774 - 1814) - a naval captain, hydrographer and discoverer: the first man to circumnavigate Australia

Cats, like humans, have distinct personalities. Some are more intelligent than others. This is a book about two moggies who, purely by chance, had similar names - Trim and Tim. There was a gulf between them of two hundred years. Tim lived five times as long as Trim. But they had much in common - as well as differing from each other quite markedly in certain respects. Both were strong-willed and venturesome, taking a keen interest in anything of a mechanical nature. Curiosity was a dominating factor in their natures: they always wanted to find out more. Each of them, with some degree of success, tried hard to communicate.

In the great scheme of things, it could be argued that these two little lives do not count for very much. But in the impact they made, both on their immediate owners and the wider circles around them, their influence was incalculable - and wholly beneficial. They deserve to be remembered.

45 pages; published by Nekta Publications in 2020 [ISBN 979-8-574-88510-0].

Reports, Reactions and Recollections (a Hornung compilation)

E.W, Hornung (1866 - 1921) wrote a host of short stories and novels and, especially in his later life, some very striking poetry. Above all else, however, he is remembered as the creator of a larger-than-life character called A.J. Raffles, a charming ex-public school man, who played cricket by day and burgled by night.

This little book, however, is a compilation of virtually everything that he produced over a period of almost forty years that was NOT fiction, although some scraps of poetry are now published for the very first time (and there are unmistakable elements of fiction in at least one of the articles). A Journal of his voyage to Australia in 1884, and details of what he did when he got there, are among the items included - plus the texts of a couple of interviews, in one of which he explains the intriguing manner in which Raffles evolved. There are, in all, twenty-four items, most of them supplemented with introductory insights.

It is hoped that the reader will find these items both entertaining and interesting.

190 pages; published by Nekta Publications in 2021 [ISBN 9798503638509].