A conscienceless plunderer.


On Wed, Feb 14, 2024 at 1:16 PM <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Well, you caught me in a good mood, the weather clear, my hopes bright,
> birds chirping nearby, and feeling more charitable than I've felt in
> months. So, you might have to factor this in when I grade Mr. Neider on
> a curve, but I'd give him an F.
>
> That's his grade as an editor. As for popularizing Twain, he seemed
> quite good at PR, either promoting himself or Twain.
>
> Kevin
> @
> Mac Donnell Rare Books
> 9307 Glenlake Drive
> Austin TX 78730
> 512-345-4139
>
> You can browse our books at:
> www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
>
>
> ------ Original Message ------
> From: "Dave Davis" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: 2/14/2024 10:04:40 AM
> Subject: Charles Neider, editorial reputation?
>
> >
> https://www.edseditions.com/pages/books/192304/mark-twain/the-adventures-of-colonel-sellers-edited-with-an-introduction-notes-by-charles-neider
> >
> >I'm reading in this version, while I wait for my Library of American
> volume
> >to come in the mail.
> >In it, Neider took the liberty of excising Warner's chapters, leaving
> >SLC's, and explained why he thought that was a good idea. Apparently
> >Doubleday (the publishers) thought so as well. I guess there was market
> >demand for 'new' Twain works in the American book market at the time.
> >
> >What is anyone's view of Neider's editorial work on MT, nowadays? He got
> >out several volumes of Twain material -- (see list below) --the stuff that
> >was on the shelves when I first wandered into my Jr. High School library
> in
> >the late 60's. I read and enjoyed his edition of the Autobiography, which
> >included some previously unpublished chapters and excellent period
> >photographs, including the "rocking chair" series which SLC annotated.
> >
> >Like Holbrook, Neider did a lot of this Twain-related work during the last
> >decade of  Clara Clemens's life and tenure of the Estate.
> >
> >From Wikipedia--
> >
> >
> >"Neider edited a major edition of the Autobiography of Mark Twain,
> >published in 1959. In this, he expressed regret that Twain's daughter
> Clara
> >Clemens would not permit him to include Samuel Clemens' dictations from
> >June 1906 (the 19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, and 25th).[6]
> >
> >"Other Mark Twain Publications he edited include:
> >
> >
> >    - The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain (1957)
> >    - The Autobiography of Mark Twain (1959)
> >    - The Complete Humorous Sketches and Tales of Mark Twain (1961)
> >    - Mark Twain: Life As I Find It (1961)
> >    - The Travels of Mark Twain (1961)
> >    - Complete Essays of Mark Twain (1963)
> >    - The Adventures of Colonel Sellers (1965)
> >    - The Complete Travel Books of Mark Twain (1966)
> >    - Mark Twain (1967)
> >    - The Comic Mark Twain Reader (1977)
> >    - The Selected Letters of Mark Twain (1972)
> >    - A Tramp Abroad (1977)
> >    - Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims and Other Salutary Platform Opinions
> >    (1984)
> >    - Papa: An Intimate Biography of Mark Twain by Susy Clemens (1985)
> >    - Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1985)
> >    - Mark Twain at His Best: A Comprehensive Sampler (1986)
> >    - The Outrageous Mark Twain (1987)."
> >
> >(The ones in that listing that were authored entirely by Neider, I don't
> >know anything about.)
> >
> >Thoughts?  /DDD
>