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 >>>