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 included some previously unpublished chapters and excellent period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
>>