Mr Pye by Mervyn Peake.

Mr Pye by Mervyn Peake.  Hardcover book published by Methuen 1985.

I was recently talking to someone about Mervyn Peake, in particular his Gormenghast books.  I thought they were a trilogy but checking the old Wikipedia, I find that they are not classified as a trilogy but were part of a “lengthy cycle, the completion of which was prevented by his death.”  Death will do that sometimes… unless you’re V.C. Andrews.   

The Gormenghast “cycle” is incredibly popular with those that like that sort of thing… which is a sort of gothic fantasy type thing.  I’d even go so far as to say that there’s a cult of Gormenghast although maybe that’s going a little too far.  Lets just say that Mervyn has his fans… of which I am not one there of. 

I read the first of the Gormenghast books (Titus Groan) many years ago and despite believing that it was a trilogy, I have never been tempted to read the other books (Gormenghast, Titus Alone).  So what was wrong with my reading of Titus Groan?  Well, it just didn’t grab me and this may sound a bit strange, but at the time I remember reading it and thinking that it was going in and going straight back out again.  Now this is interesting because I remember thinking this about the book, but I can’t remember any details about the book.  It could have been my state of mind at the time and I do remember thinking that I should possibly read it again at a later date… which as I’ve mentioned I never been tempted to do. 

In the meantime I’ve got this copy of Mr. Pye which is not part of the Gormenghast “cycle”.  But it is the book that I have for sale.  It’s very rare for me to find any of the Gormenghast books and when I do they are usually very worn and not up to the usual Huc & Gabet standard.  This copy of Mr Pye does meet the standard but it isn’t Gormenghast.  Maybe I should read this book.  Maybe I should read Gormenghast.  Or maybe I should just leave it and see what happens, as life is too short to worry about what I have and haven’t read.

Tasmanian Trout Waters by Greg French.

Tasmanian Trout Waters by Greg French.  Hardcover book with pictorial boards self published 1994, 336 pages with black and white photographs and a few black and white maps.

I like a piece of Trout.  Simply pan fried in a small amount of Olive Oil and garnished with some Murray River Salt and some lemon… mmmmm.  Smoked is lovely as well.  A smoked Trout risotto with wasabi and whatever vegies you’ve got… oh yeah.  Yep, after writing this and getting my gastric juices juicing, I’ve decided I’m picking up some trout later this week.  Unfortunately the Trout I will buy will not be as fresh as it would be if I was in Tasmania and used this book to fill my plate… oh well, the dodgy fish shop in Ballarat* will have to do. 

Greg French has no need for a fish shop.  I bet you he has a fridge full… or even better… he has a bag full of fresh lovely trout like the one on the cover.  Hang on, both the cover pictures look like he’s releasing the fish.  Oh no.  

I’ve had a brief look in the book to see if Greg does indeed release his fish after capture.  Unfortunately I have no answer to this question and for the sake of this paragraph, I’m going to assume he does release any fish that he should chance upon.  As I mentioned recently in another blog entry, I’m not a fisherman.  Which is probably why I would eat any fish that I should be so lucky to catch (… yeah in my dreams).  To me the reward would be to eat the fish at the end of the process. The process itself, which I believe appeals to most fisherman, does not appeal to me.  As nice as it is that Greg is showing us how to be a responsible fisherman, I personally think of my belly, which is why the world would be sadly more overfished than it is already is if i were a fisherman.  But you know what, I bet you Greg does partake… all the fish in this book look so tasty and he is only human.

* which is not really that dodgy

Suttee: A Historical and Philosophical Enquiry into the Hindu Rite of Widow-Burning by Edward Thompson.

Suttee: A Historical and Philosophical Enquiry into the Hindu Rite of Widow-Burning by Edward Thompson.  Hardcover book published by George Allen & Unwin 1928.

“Phileas Fogg had heard what Sir Francis said, and, as soon as the procession had disappeared, asked: "What is a suttee?"

"A suttee," returned the general, "is a human sacrifice, but a voluntary one. The woman you have just seen will be burned to-morrow at the dawn of day."

"Oh, the scoundrels!" cried Passepartout, who could not repress his indignation.

"And the corpse?" asked Mr. Fogg.

"Is that of the prince, her husband," said the guide; "an independent rajah of Bundelcund."

"Is it possible," resumed Phileas Fogg, his voice betraying not the least emotion, "that these barbarous customs still exist in India, and that the English have been unable to put a stop to them?"

"These sacrifices do not occur in the larger portion of India," replied Sir Francis; "but we have no power over these savage territories, and especially here in Bundelcund. The whole district north of the Vindhias is the theatre of incessant murders and pillage."”

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, first published 1873.

It was Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne that first introduced me to the barbarous custom known as Suttee.  Who can forget the shock at realising that this woman (Aouda) was going to be burned alive and all because her husband had died.  As the indignant Passepartout exclaimed, "oh, the scoundrels!"  Like many other young boys around the world, I was fascinated by all of Jules Verne’s stories and this scene in Around the World in Eighty Days is one that has stuck firmly in my memories. 

Jules was very clever in using Suttee in his novel.  In 1873 it had been outlawed in India for 44 years and was not a common occurrence.  Yet here we have a scene depicting it in all its gory detail… well maybe not ALL of its gory detail, but it is implied… well maybe not.  She does live… but just the thought of suttee… “oh, the scoundrels” for even thinking of doing this to the lovely Aouda.  After 139 years this book still evokes images of barbarity and even shocks us into not forgetting that this sort of thing has happened.  Jules Verne has successfully imprinted on out minds something that was a rare and shocking occurrence and made sure that his book has not been forgotten.

Suttee: A Historical and Philosophical Enquiry into the Hindu Rite of Widow-Burning is a later book written on the subject and unlike Jules’s book, this one is non-fiction.  The book mainly looks at the history of Suttee but does bring the whole issue up to 1928.  Flicking through the book, I find this interesting question on page 139.  Would Suttee revive if the British left India?  I’d like to think it wouldn’t/didn’t but occasionally there are contemporary reports of Hindu nationalists/fundamentalists coercing/forcing newly widowed wives into partaking in the practice (“Oh, the scoundrels”).  Besides visiting India and reading about this subject in the Indian (and other) press, Jules Verne was my reference point when I found this book.  I see the word “Suttee” and I think of Around the World in 80 Days.  What I seriously wonder is whether the author wrote the book with that as the intention.  It is possible… or am I just being a bit cynical once again. 

There are a number of black and white photographs throughout the book. These are mostly of stone carvings and fortunately the author has avoided using any photographs of flaming pyres.  The photos in this book don’t really capture the whole thing so I’ve dug up this historical photo of me at Jodhpur Fort in Rajastan early 1990s.  I’m on the left without the beard, the other two were North Americans.  Each hand print on the wall represents a wife that was burnt.  I mightn’t look indignant but I was certainly thinking “oh, the scoundrels”.

Book Case of death.

Recently I wrote:

“I have a whole book case packed full of these sort of books (ie unsold $$$ books) and as I mentioned about a year ago, these are books that I have parked on line awaiting a sale.  Recently I have started referring to this book case as the Book Case of Death in a reference to dead titles that are sitting on the shelf, lifeless and slowly decaying.”

Pretty much as soon as I posted this comment, I thought that I should do a follow up post with a little more detail and a slight clarification. 

Yes I do have a book case full of valuable and often rare books listed on the interwebs awaiting sale.  These are books that despite having a value and in some cases, a certain rarity, have not sold for various reasons.  What I haven’t mentioned is that there have been gaps in the book case where a number of books have sold.  Gap wise I’m not talking about the deserts of central Australia, it is rather a smaller number of sales (and gaps) over a long period of time.  Nevertheless, these are sales.  It is the books that are still sitting on the shelf after 12 months that lead me to refer to it all as “the Book Case of Death”. 

 Book Case of Death with gaps filled

The listing of these books on line does have a $ cost and over the past 12 months I haven’t lost money, I have indeed made some money… not the millions/thousands that I was hoping for.  Hundreds I have made and of course at the end of the day I still have these rare expensive unsold books… that ummmm, haven’t sold. So the Book Case of Death sits here, full of books, occasionally bringing me some joy… but mostly sitting here “lifeless and slowly decaying”.

Bayonets to Lhasa by Peter Fleming.

Bayonets to Lhasa by Peter Fleming.  Paperback Proof Copy published by Rupert Hart-Davis 1960.

As the title indicates, this book is not about peace loving adventurers seeking enlightenment high in the Himalayas.  The British expedition to Tibet that took place in 1903 and 1904, was led by a gentleman (?) by the name of Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband and was a rather sad and sorry affair.  On paper it was intended to be a way of discussing problems the British were having with the Tibetans regarding the Sikkim-Tibet border.  In fact it ended up, or was an excuse for, a blatant invasion of Tibet and quite a few Tibetans were mercilessly slaughtered whilst defending their country (hence the bayonets in the title).  I’m no historian but this whole thing was not one of the highlights of the British Empires rule in this part of the world.  There’s a great biography of Younghusband entitled Younghusband: The Last Great Imperial Adventurer (Patrick French) which I read a number of years ago and to be honest, I didn’t end up with a very favourable opinion of Mr Younghusband… but that’s just my opinion. 

Peter Fleming didn’t write Casino Royale, Dr No or any of the other James Bond books.  They were all written by his little brother Ian.  Peter did write a number of books on various subjects including a small amount of fiction and some travel.  There’s a great book of his entitled News from Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir in which Peter traveled across China with Ella Maillart who wrote Forbidden Journey about the same adventure.  Both of these books are incredibly interesting partially due to the opinions and observation of each of them about the other.  From memory Ella was not overly impressed with Peter and Peter… well he hardly mentioned Ella at all and I can’t remember him having any opinion about her at all.  All of this of course has very little to do with Younghusband except that Peter and Ella did travel on the other side of the Himalayas at a much later date and they did go through Kashmir where Younghusband spent a number of years. 

This book was first published in 1961… hang on a sec… my copy was published in 1960. In other words this book predates the first edition.  What I have here is a Proof Copy as apposed to the first edition.  A Proof Copy is usually printed up as a test for the final print run.  This is intended as a way for the publisher, maybe the author and maybe anyone else involved with the book to pick up any errors and get an idea of how the finished product will look in print.  They are usually printed up cheaply, are often paperback (even if the final product is intended as a hardcover) and they often don’t have the illustrations, photographs etc that will eventually be included in the book, as is the case with this copy.  In other words if you’re a collector then this is something even more special/rare than a first edition as these are only printed up in small numbers.*

A quick look around on the interwebs confirms that this is indeed a rare item.  Unfortunately it does have some wear and various marks etc etc and I have described my copy on line as being in poor condition… as it is in poor condition (see scan above).  But it is rare and perfect for anyone interested in this particular incident in Tibetan history or interested in the “Great Game” … which is one of my interests and one of the reasons I, firstly, picked up this book and secondly, have read the Younghusband biography, the other Peter Fleming book and the Ella Maillart book.  

*For those of you who are aware of what a proof copy is, my apologies.  This blog is intended for a broad audience.

Six Little New Zealanders by Esther Glen.

Six Little New Zealanders by Esther Glen.  Hardcover book published by Cassell and Company 1947.

Here in Australia we are more familiar with our own home grown Seven Little Australians than with the Six Little New Zealanders.  The Seven Little Australians was written by Ethel Turner and first published in 1894.  There was also a well loved and popular 1970s TV series based upon the book, which is probably more well known now than the book itself.  This book is New Zealands own “Little” book, of which I have no idea how popular it is/was in New Zealand.  When I’ve mentioned this title to anyone here in Australia any comment is usually preceded by a blank expression followed by a raised eyebrow. 

Unlike the whole Pavlova fiasco, there is no dispute that I’m aware of as to which came first, as the New Zealand book was  first published in 1917.  Apparently the author had visited Australia at some stage before 1917 and had stumbled across Ethel’s work and decided that New Zealand needed an equivalent wholesome childrens book.  My cynical mind makes me think that she saw an opportunity to make a few bucks and what better way to do this than to rip off an Aussie… which to be fair to New Zealanders, Australians also do in the reverse (see Pavlova). The book did of course have an emphasis on the whole being New Zealand thing and what better way of doing this than by setting the story on a sheep station… maybe Esther didn’t realise that there are sheep stations here in Australia as well, although with my cynicism still actively engaged, it is possible that she intended the book to be as popular ($$$) here in Australia as the Seven Little Australians was… it wasn’t. 

I do like the way Esther has altered the plot significantly by having one less child… a clever manipulation (?).  Indeed it was the title indicating only Six blah, blah, blahs that attracted my attention as it triggered something within my brain immediately linking it to the Seven blah, blah, blahs.  Well done Esther, your tricky plot manipulation in this instance, has worked. There is a collector base for the works of Ethel Turner and her ilk and I recently mentioned this title to one such collector who hadn’t heard of the book but did indeed raise an eyebrow and express some interest. 

Highway Bridge Design Specification by National Association of Australian State Road Authorities.

Highway Bridge Design Specification by National Association of Australian State Road Authorities. Hardcover book (no dust jacket) published by Association of Australian State Road Authorities 1965.

Building bridges is what this book is all about.  But it’s not to be filed in the self help or new age categories, as it’s not that sort of bridge.  DIY.  Mmmm, I’m not sure how many people would count bridge building of this sort as a hobby/home activity… but there’s bound to be someone out there into building bridges… highway bridges that is… not the other sort of which there are a plenty. 

1965 was a few years ago, so maybe what i really need to consider is DIY people that are into making historically accurate bridges of the 1960s… or maybe someone with a bridge collection (“This is my Australian Highway Bridge from the 1960s.”).  As I write all this, it’s getting harder to figure out who would be interested in this book.  Maybe I need to find books about building the other sort of bridges.

This particular copy has a number of penciled notes and even a whole extra page of extensive scribblings stuck into it.  It’s obviously been used and by the looks of it, seriously used.  No weekend bridge building here, this is the big stuff.  I like finding notes etc in technical manuals.  To me it’s an indicator that the book has served the purpose that it was printed for and wasn’t just a pretty book for the shelf.  Then again what if the penciled information is incorrect and someone builds a bridge based on someone elses incorrect comment about concrete strengths.  This could cause trouble.