Aw heck. I thought Ben was talking about me and I took it as a 
compliment.

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: "Matt Seybold" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 2/14/2024 10:23:19 PM
Subject: Re: Charles Neider, editorial reputation?

>I might grade Neider a mite higher than Kevin & Ben do, but if you think (as I do) that the Cold War era propagandizing of Twain has been a net negative for both Twain scholarship & Twain’s reputation, Neider has to be at the top of the list of Twain scholars who were complicit in that propagandizing, if not necessarily driving it. - MS
>
>>  On Feb 14, 2024, at 11:15 PM, Benjamin Griffin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>  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
>>>