Re: Robert Aickman
 

What a coincidence! It's the next book I've bought!

Re: Robert Aickman
 

tarturusrussel,

Are there any plans to reprint The Attempted Rescue? :)

Re: Robert Aickman
 

My apologies for not replying before - I missed your message.

No, there are no plans to reprint The Attempted Rescue at the moment. Perhaps, in due course....

Re: Robert Aickman
 

We are delighted to announce that the next book published by Tartarus Press will be We Are for the Dark by Robert Aickman and Elizabeth Jane Howard. It will be launched at the Alt.Halifax Ghost Story Festival, at which will be shown rare tv adaptations of Howard's "Three Miles Up" (from We Are for the Dark) and Aickman's "The Hospice".

As a part of the research for the We Are for the Dark reprint, I interviewed Elizabeth Jane Howard and she happily talked about the collection and her relationship with Robert Aickman. A part of that interview is available on the Tartarus Press blog.

Re: Robert Aickman
 

Already bought. Frankly, I think this volume is essential.

Re: Robert Aickman
 

Excellent news. We are for the Dark (which I've written about in the past here) is a landmark in the history of the ghost story and a thoroughly satisfying set of tales. Although I own a tatty copy of the paperback edition and have all six stories in Tartarus' collected editions of Aickman and Howard, I'm sure to pick up a copy of this version eventually.

Re: Robert Aickman
 

Having read all 48 of Aickman's collected stories at least once, I've started going through them more analytically. I hope to write short essays on each one, offering possible interpretations that might make them seem a little less impenetrable to casual readers. The first one, on "The Trains," can be found here if anyone is curious. Comments, whether your own or drawn from other commentary you've read, are welcome; Aickman interpretation is such a tricky business that I need all the help I can get.

Re: Robert Aickman
 

I've enthused previously on this thread about Philip Challinor's critical essays on Aickman's fiction and I was delighted to see that G.W. Crawford has collected all of his recent criticism in a chapbook from The Gothic Press.

Contents:
Frustrated Love Relentless Death - 'The Unsettled Dust'
The Icy Depths - 'Niemandswasser'
How Deep It Goes - 'No Stronger Than a Flower'
A Walk In The Woods - 'Bind Your Hair'
Outstaring Time - 'Le Miroir'
A Fate Worse Than Death - 'The Same Dog'
Lost In The Dark - 'The Hospice'
Ravishing Art - 'Ravissante'

Jim Rockhill's review from the Wormwoodiana blog says it much more succinctly than I can manage, but I must add that personally I find Challinor's criticism both illuminating and profound (I particularly recommend the essay on 'The Same Dog'). Challinor is adept at throwing light on the more obscure and allusive Aickman tales such as The Hospice and Ravissante, and while I don't agree with everything he says, like all good criticism it sends you back to the stories looking for hints and themes that you missed first time around.

My only caveat is that I was unable to get hold of a copy from a UK dealer and so had to go via Amazon.com. This cost in the region of £20, which for a slim stapled-together chapbook is pretty steep, but I think if you're a serious fan of Aickman you can't afford to be without this.

Brendan's excellent blog is, however, 100% free. :)

Re: Robert Aickman
 

Wormwood 17, now out, includes a fascinating article by Doug Anderson about Robert Aickman's unpublished plays. These are a completely unknown part of Aickman's literary work for almost all readers, and Doug helpfully summarises the plays and comments on their themes. As Doug concludes, drama probably wasn't the right form for Aickman's imagination, but even so it is intriguing to learn more about his work here.

Re: Robert Aickman
 

My 'mature' revaluation of 'The Hospice', a classic story by Robert Aickman included in my RTR of 'The WEIRD':
http://nullimmortalis.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/the-weird-7/
i.e. for any interested.
des