Brian W. Aldiss: Cover Gallery

Another very patchy collection, especially embarrassing as Brian Aldiss is not only one of Britain's finest writers but is still adding to his CV, his latest novel appearing in 2009 and his latest collection of poetry published only a matter of months ago. He also very kindly wrote a foreword to Sci-Fi Art: A Graphic History. Brian has a website and you can find out more about his work at Wikipedia.

NOVELS (series: Helliconia; Squire quartet; Horatio Stubbs)

The Brightfount Diaries, illustrated by Pearl Falconfer (London, Faber, 1955)

Non-Stop (London, Faber, 1958; abridged as Starship, New York, Criterion, 1959)
Digit Books R396, cy1958 (Oct 1960), 160pp, 2/6. Cover by Ed Emsh (reprints Ace D369)
Pan Books 0330-24638-0, 1976, 204pp.
---- [xth imp.] 1977
Grafton 0586-06817-1, (Dec) 1987, 269pp, £2.95.
Roc 0140-17353-6, (Mar) 1993, 272pp, £4.99. Cover by Keith Scaife
Millennium 1857-98998-8 (SF Masterworks 33), (Sep) 2000, 241pp, £6.99. Cover by Fred Gambino

Vanguard From Alpha (New York, Ace, 1960; as Equator (with additional story), London, Digit, 1961)
Digit Books R533, (Oct) 1961, 160pp, 2/6. Cover by unknown
Digit Books R695, (Apr) 1963, 157pp, 2/6.
New English Library 0450-01501-7, Jun 1973, 127pp, 30p. Cover by Bruce Pennington
----, [2nd imp.] Jun 1973, 127pp, 30p. Cover as above
New English Library 0450-3041-5, Jan 1977, 50p.

Bow Down to Nul (New York, Ace, 1960; restored as The Interpreter, London, Digit, 1961)
Digit Books R506, (Jul) 1961, 156pp, 2/6. Cover by unknown
Digit Books R766, (Oct) 1963, 158pp, 2/6. Cover by unknown
Four Square Books 1970, Jun 1967, 126pp, 3/6. Cover by Josh Kirby
New English Library 0450-01142-9, [2nd imp.] Jun 1972, 126pp, 25p. Cover by Bruce Pennington
New English Library 0450-01457-6, [3rd imp.] Feb 1973, 126pp, 30p. Cover as above
New English Library 0450-02713-9, [?4th imp.] May 1975, 126pp, 35p. Cover as above

The Male Response (New York, Beacon, 1961; London, Dobson, 1963)
Four Square Books 1623, Oct 1966, 174pp, 3/6. Cover: photo
Panther Books 0586-04310-1, 1976, 224pp. Cover photo by Beverley le Barrow

The Primal Urge (New York, Ballantine, 1961; London, Sphere, 1967)
Sphere Books 0722-01082-0, 1967, 191pp, 5/-. Cover: photo by David Davies
----, [xth imp.] Cover: photo
Panther Books 0586-04380-2, 1976, 191pp.
House of Stratus 0755-10059-X, 2001, 221pp, £6.99. Cover by Derek Edwards

Hothouse (London, Faber, 1962; as The Long Afternoon of Earth, New York, New American Library, 1962)
Four Square Books 1147, 1964, 205pp.
----, [?2nd imp.] 1965
----, [xth imp.] (Jun 1967), 3/6.
Sphere Books (SF Classics 1), 1969
----, [2nd imp.] (SF Classics 1) 1971, 205pp. Cover by Eddie Jones
----, [3rd imp.] (SF Classics 1) 1973, 30p. Cover by Eddie Jones
----, [4th imp.] 1976. Cover by Eddie Jones
Sphere Books 0722-11103-7, [5th imp.] 1977, 206pp, 75p. Cover by Eddie Jones
Granada/Panther 0586-04990-8, 1979, xix+205pp. [introduction by Joseph Milicia]
----, [xth imp.] 1984. Cover by Tim White
Victor Gollancz 0575-04735-6 (VGSF 41), 1990, 206pp, £3.99. Cover by Peter Elson
House of Stratus 0755-10060-3, 2000, 269pp, £6.99.
Penguin 0141-18955-X, 2008, x+272pp. [introduction by Neil Gaiman; afterword by Aldiss]

The Dark Light Years (London, Faber, 1964; New York, New American Library, 1964)
Four Square Books 1437, Feb 1966, 158pp, 3/6. Cover by Karel Thole
New English Library 0450-00710-3, [2nd imp.] May 1971, 159pp, 30p. Cover by Bruce Pennington
----, [3rd imp.] Apr 1972, 159pp, 30p. Cover as above
New English Library 0450-02306-0, [?4th imp.] May 1975, 40p. Cover as above
Panther Books 0586-04987-8, 1979, 159pp. Cover by Peter Goodfellow

Greybeard (London, Faber, 1965; New York, Doubleday, 1966; revised Sutton, Severn House, 1993)
Panther Books 0586-02460-3, 1968, 219pp. Cover: photo
---- 0586-02460-3 2, [2nd imp.] 1972, 219pp.
---- [xth imp.] 1974, Cover by Bob Haberfield?
Triad (?)
Roc 0140-17354-4, (Jan) 1994, 207pp, £4.99. Cover by Keith Scaife
House of Stratus 0755-10063-8, (Mar) 2001, 258pp, £6.99.

Earthworks (London, Faber, 1965; New York, Doubleday, 1966)
Four Square Books 1741, 1967, 125pp, 3/6. Cover by Karel Thole
New English Library 0450-01141-0, 1972, 126pp, 25p. Cover by Bruce Pennington
New English Library 0450-02221-8, Dec 1974, 30p. Cover as above
Panther Books 0586-04993-2, 1979, 126pp.
Methen Paperbacks 0413-17740-8, (Jul) 1988, 125pp, £2.95. Cover by John Higgins

An Age (London, Faber, 1967; as Cryptozoic, New York, Doubleday, 1968)
Sphere Books 0722-11081-2, 1969, 187pp.
Sphere Books, 1973.
Sphere Books 0722-11104-5, 1977, 187pp.
Panther Books 0586-04992-4, 1979, 187pp.
Victor Gollancz 0575-04179-X (VGSF 30), (Feb) 1989, 187pp, £2.99. Cover by Nick Rogers
House of Stratus 0755-10053-0, 211pp, £6.99.

Report on Probability A. London, Faber, 1968; New York, Doubleday, 1968.
Sphere Book 0722-11085-5, 1969, 156pp.
----, [?2nd imp.] 1973
Sphere Books 0722-11108-8, 1977, 156pp, 85p. Cover by unknown

Barefoot in the Head (London, Faber, 1969; New York, Doubleday, 1970)
Corgi Books 0552-08763-7, 1971, 236pp.
Corgi Books 0552-09653-9, 1974, 236pp.
Panther Books 0586-04988-6, 1979, 236pp.
Victor Gollancz 9575-04181-1 (VGSF 46), (Dec) 1990, 236pp, £3.99. Cover by Fred Gambino
House of Stratus 0755-10066-2, 2000, 271pp, £6.99.

The Hand-Reared Boy (Stubbs; London, Weidenfeld, 1970; New York, Mew York, McCann, 1970)
Corgi Books 0552-11143-0, 1979, 142pp.
Souvenir Press 0285-63516-6, 1999, 189pp.

A Soldier Erect (Stubbs; London, Weidenfeld, 1971; New York, McCann, 1971)
Corgi Books 0552-09018-2, 1972, 222pp.
----, [2nd imp.] 1972.
----, [3rd imp.] 1973.
----, [4th imp.] 1974
----, [5th imp.] 1976.
----, [6th imp.] 1979, 222pp, 95p. Cover: photo

Frankenstein Unbound (London, Cape, 1973; New York, Random House, 1974)
Pan Books 0330-24546-5, 1975, 157pp. Cover adapts Fawcett Crest Q2473, 1975
Triad 0586-05434-0, 1982, 156pp.
New English Library 0450-53096-5, (Jan) 1991, 216pp, £3.50.
House of Stratus 0755-10069-7, 2000, 188pp, £6.99.

The Eighty-Minute Hour (London, Cape, 1974; New York, Doubleday, 1974)
Pan Books 0330-24547-3, 1975, 235pp.
Triad/Panther 0586-06237-8, 1985, 288pp. Cover by Chris Foss

The Malacia Tapestry (London, Cape, 1976; New York, Harper, 1977)
Panther/Triad 0586-04497-3, 1976, x+292pp, 95p. Cover by Peter Goodfellow
---- [?2nd imp.] 1984, x+292pp, £1.95. Cover by Philip Tonkyn
Methuen Paperback 0413-17730-0, (Jul) 1988, 292pp, £3.50. Cover by John Higgins
House of Stratus 0755-10071-9, 2001, 338pp. Cover by Derek Edwards

Brothers of the Head, illus by Ian Pollock (London & New York, Pierrot, 1977; with Where the Lines Converge, London, Panther, 1979)
Pierrot Publishing 0905-31001-2, 1977, 119pp.
Panther Books 0586-04994-0, 1979, 156pp.
Grafton, (Jan) 1986, £1.95.

A Rude Awakening (Stubbs; London, Weldenfeld, 1978; New York, Random House, 1979)
Corgi Books 0552-11142-2, 1979, 223pp.

Enemies of the System (London, Cape, 1978; New York, Harper & Row, 1978)
Triad/Panther 0586-04996-7, 1980, 124pp.

Life in the West (Squire; London, Weidenfeld, 1980; New York, Carroll & Graf, 1990)
Corgi Books 0552-11834-6, 1982, 302pp.
Abacus 0349-11067-0, 1998, 304pp.

Moreau’s Other Island (London, Cape, 1980; as An Island Called Moreau, New York, Simon & Schuster, 1981)
Triad 0586-05455-3, 1982, 176pp.

Helliconia Spring (London, Cape, 1982; New York, Atheneum, 1982)
Triad/Granada 0586-05365-4, 1983, 555pp, £1.95. Cover by Tim Gill
Grafton 0586-05365-4, [xth imp.] (Nov) 1988, 555pp, £3.50.

Helliconia Summer (London, Cape, 1983; New York, Atheneum, 1983)
Triad/Panther 0586-05366-2, 1985, 576pp, £2.50. Cover by Tim Gill
Grafton 0586-05366-2, [xth imp.] (Nov) 1988, 576pp, £3.50.

Helliconia Winter (London, Cape, 1985; New York, Atheneum, 1985)
Triad/Panther 0586-05367-0, (May) 1986, 393pp, £2.50. Cover by Tim Gill
----, [xth imp.], £2.95.
Triad/Grafton 0586-05367-0 [4th imp.] n.d., 393pp, £4.50.

The Year Before Yesterday (New York, Franklin Watts, 1987; revised as Cracken at Critical, London, Kerosina, 1987)
New English Library 0450-50083-7, (Jul) 1989, 200pp, £2.99. Cover by Nick

Ruins, illus. by Salim Patell (London, Century Hutchinson, 1987)
Arena 0099-53650-1, (Nov) 1988, 95pp, £2.50.

Forgotten Life (Squire; London, Gollancz, 1988; New York, Macmillan Atheneum, 1988)
Mandarin 0749-30123-6, (May) 1989, 398pp, £3.99. Cover by John Holmes
Abacus 0349-11066-2, 1998, 284pp.

Dracula Unbound (New York, HarperCollins, 1991; London, Grafton, 1991)
Grafton 0586-21193-4, (Apr) 1992, 247pp, £4.99. Cover by Chris Foss

Remembrance Day (Squire; London, HarperCollins, 1993; New York, St. Martin’s, 1993)
Flamingo 0006-54679-X, (Aug) 1994, 268pp, £5.99. Cover by Gary Embury
Abacus 0349-11149-9, (May) 1999, 311pp, £6.99.

Somewhere East of Life: Another European Fantasia (Squire; London, Flamingo, 1994; New York, Carroll & Graf, 1994)
Flamingo 0006-54763-X, (Nov) 1995, 392pp, £5.99. Cover by Gary Embury
Abacus 0349-11148-0, (May) 1999, 408pp, £6.99.

White Mars; or, The Mind Set Free. A 21st-Century Utopia, with Roger Penrose (London, Little Brown, 1999)
Warner Books 0751-52978-8, (Nov) 2000, 323pp, £7.99.

Super-State (London, Orbit, 2000)
Orbit 1841-49211-6, (Apr) 2003, 230pp, £6.99.

The Cretan Teat (Thirsk, N. Yorkshire, House of Stratus, 2002)
House of Stratus 0755-11147-8, (May) 2002, 206pp, £9.99.

Affairs at Hampden Ferrers (London, Little Brown, 2004)
(no UK paperback edition?)

Jocasta: “Wife and Mother” (London, The Rose Press, 2004 [2005])
(no UK paperback edition?)

Sanity and the Lady, introduction by Ian R. MacLeod (Hornsea, Yorkshire, PS Publishing, 2005)
(no UK paperback edition?)

HARM (New York, Ballantine Books, 2007; London, Duckworth, 2007)
(no UK paperback edition)

Walcot. (Uppingham, Ruthland, Goldmark, 2009)
(no UK paperback edition)

Finches of Mars (London, The Friday Project Ltd., 2013)
(no UK paperback edition)

The Comfort Zone (London, The Friday Project Ltd., 2013)
(no UK paperback edition)

COLLECTIONS

Space, Time and Nathaniel. London, Faber, 1957; revised as No Time Like Tomorrow, New York, Signet, 1959)
Four Square Books 1496, (May) 1966, 159pp, 3/6.
New English Library 0450-00706-5, [2nd imp.] May 1971, 159pp, 30p. Cover by Bruce Pennington
----, [3rd imp.] Mar 1972. Cover as above
New English Library 0450-02084-3, [4th imp.] Sep 1974, 159pp, 40p. Cover as above
Panther Books 0586-04989-4, 1979, 190pp.

The Canopy of Time (London, Faber, 1958; revised as Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, New York, Signet, 1960; revised, under original title, Panther, 1979; revised again as Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, London, Victor Gollancz, 1989)
Four Square Books 821, 1963, 191pp. Cover by unknown
Four Square Books 1078, [2nd imp.] 1964, 3/6.
New English Library 0450-00708-1, (May) 1971, 191pp, 30p. Cover by Bruce Pennington
New English Library 0450-02254-4, Nov 1974, 40p. Cover as above
Panther Books 0586-04985-1, 1979, 188pp.
Granada 0586-04985-1, 1985. Cover by Vincent Di Fate
Victor Gollancz 0575-04180-3, (Sep) 1989, 188pp, £2.99. Cover by Brian Waugh

The Airs of Earth (London, Faber, 1963; revised as Starswarm, New York, Signet, 1964; London, Gollancz, 1990)
Four Square Books 1325, (Sep) 1965, 190pp.
New English Libray 0450-00707-3, [2nd imp.] May 1971, 190pp, 30p. Cover by Bruce Pennington
----, [3rd imp.] Aug 1972, 190pp, 35p. Cover as above
New English Library 0450-02097-5, [?4th imp.] Oct 1974, 40p. Cover as above
Panther 0586-04991-6, 1979, 190pp.
Granada/Panther, 1985. Cover by Vincent Di Fate
Victor Gollancz 0575-04182-X (VGSF 45), (Aug) 1990, 190pp, £3.50.
House of Stratus 0755-10061-1, 2000, 230pp, £6.99.

Best SF Stories of Brian W. Aldiss. London, Faber, 1965; as Who Can Replace a Man, New York, Harcourt Brace, 1966; revised under original title, London, Faber, 1971.
(UK paperback edition?)

The Saliva Tree, and Other Strange Growths (London, Faber, 1966; with introduction by Peter Nicholls, New York, Gregg Press, 1981; bound with Born of the Dead by Robert Silverberg, New York, Tor, 1988)
Sphere 0722-01083-9, 1968, 253pp, 5/-. Cover photo by David Davies
Sphere 0722-01096-0, [2nd imp.] 1971, 253pp, 30p. Cover by unknown
Sphere 0733-11102-9, 1973, 253pp.
Sphere 0733-11073-1, 1979, 253pp. Cover by unknown

Intangibles Inc., and Other Stories (London, Faber, 1969; revised as Neanderthal Planet, New York, Avon, 1970)
Corgi Books 0552-08626-6, 1971, 190pp.
Corgi Books 0552-10044-7, 1975, 189pp.

The Moment of Eclipse (London, Faber, 1971; New York, Doubleday, 1971)
Panther Books 0586-03776-4, 1973, 189pp.
----, [2nd imp.] 1979, 189pp.
Granada 0586-03776-4, [3rd imp.] 1985. Cover by Vincent Di Fate
House of Stratus 0755-10079-4, 2000, 206pp, £6.99.

The Book of Brian Aldiss (New York, DAW Books, 1972; as Comic Inferno, London, New English Library, 1973)
New English Library 0450-01636-6, 1973, 159pp. Cover by Bruce Pennington

Last Orders, and Other Stories (London, Cape, 1977; New York, Carroll & Graf, 1989)
Triad 0586-04681-X, 1979, 222pp. Cover by Vincent di Fate

New Arrivals, Old Encounters (London, Cape, 1979; New York, Harper & Row, 1979)
Triad 0586-05011-6, 1983, 240pp.
----, [?2nd edition] 1985. Cover by Tim White
House of Stratus 0755-10080-8, 2001.

A Romance of the Equator. Novacon, 1980.

Foreign Bodies. Singapore, Chopmen Publishers, 1981.
(no UK paperback edition)

Best of Aldiss. Bestsellers/Viaduct Publications, 1983.
(no UK paperback edition)

Seasons in Flight (London, Cape, 1984; New York, Atheneum, 1986; revised with additional story, London, Triad Grafton, 1986)
Triad Grafton 0586-06604-7, (Mar) 1986, 176pp, £1.95.
House of Stratus 0755-10084-0, 2001, 130pp.

My Country ‘Tis Not Only of Thee. A story of the world after the Vietnam War (Oxford, Aldiss Appreciation Society, 1986)

The Magic of the Past (Worcester Park, Surrey, Kerosina, 1987)
Keronsina 0948-89313-3, (Aug) 1987, 48pp, £4.50.

Best SF Stories of Brian W. Aldiss (London, Gollancz, 1988; as Man in His Time: The Best Science Fiction Stories of Brian W. Aldiss, New York, Atheneum, 1989; London, Gollancz, 1989)
Victor Gollancz 0575-04530-2, (Jun) 1989, 328pp, £3.50.

A Romance of the Equator, Best Fantasy Stories (London, Gollancz, 1988; New York, Atheneum, 1990)
Victor Gollancz VGSF 0575-04778-X, (May) 1990, 345pp, £3.99. Cover by Lanfranco
House of Stratus 0755-10081-6, 2001, vi+392pp.

Science Fiction Blues: The Show that Brian Aldiss took on the Road. A selection of his best stories, poetry and speculations, edited by Frank Hatherley (London, Avernus, 1988)
Avernus 1871-50300-0, (Oct) 1988, 159pp, £4.95.

Bodily Functions (London, Avernus, 1991)
(no UK paperback edition)

Journey to the Goat Star. Eugene, Oregon, Pulphouse Publishing, 1991.
(no UK edition)

A Tupolev Too Far and Other Stories (London, HarperCollins, 1993; New York, St. Martin's Press, 1994)
HarperCollins 0006-47631-7, (Oct) 1994, 232pp, £4.99. Cover by Fred Gambino

The Secret of This Book (London, HarperCollins, 1995; as Common Clay, New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1996)
HarperCollins 0006-49793-4, (Nov) 1996, 334pp, £5.99. Cover by Gary Embury

A Chinese Perspective (Driffield, E. Yorkshire, James Goddard, 2000)
James Goddard (no ISBN), (Aug) 2000, 72pp, £7.95.

Supertoys Last All Summer Long and Other Stories of Future Times (New York, St Martin's Griffin, 2001; London, Orbit, 2001; as AI: Supertoys Las All Summer Long and Other Stories of Future Times, London, Orbit, 2001)
Orbit 1841-49043-1, (Jan) 2001, xix+232pp, £6.99.
Orbit 1941-49094-6, (Jul) 2001, xix+232pp, £5.99. Cover: photo. Movie Tie-in.

Cultural Breaks (San Francisco, California, Tachyon Publications, 2005)
(no UK paperback edition)

The Invention of Happiness (Hornsea, E. Yorkshire, PS Publishing, 2013)
(no UK paperback edition)

The Complete Short Stories: The 1950s (London, HarperCollins/The Friday Project, 2013)
The Friday Project 978-0007-47208-5, (Oct) 2013, 864pp, £19.99. [tpb]

The Complete Short Stories: The 1960s (Part 1) (London, Harper Voyager, 2015)
Harper Voyager

The Complete Short Stories: The 1960s (Part 2) (London, Harper Voyager, 2015)
Harper Voyager 978-0007-57638-7,  (Sep) 2015, 396pp, £10.99. [tpb]

The Complete Short Stories: The 1960s (Part 3) (London, Harper Voyager, 2015)
Harper Voyager 978-0008-14894-2, (Sep) 2015, 412pp, £10.99. [tpb]

The Complete Short Stories: The 1960s (Part 4) (London, Harper Voyager, 2015)
Harper Voyager 978-0008-14896-6, (Sep) 2015, 620pp, £10.99. [tpb]



OMNIBUS
A Brian Aldiss Omnibus. London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1969.
Brian Aldiss Omnibus 2. London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1971.
The Horatio Stubbs Saga. Granada/Panther 0586-06031-6, 1985, 670pp, £3.50.


Verse
Pile: Petals from St. Klaed’s Computer (London, Cape, 1979; US, 1979)
Farewell to a Child (Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, Priapus Press, 1982)
Sex and the Black Machine (London, Avernus, 1988)
Home Life with Cats (London, Grafton, 1992)
At the Caligula Hotel and Other Poems (London, Sinclair-Stevenson, 1995)
A Plutonian Monologue on His Wife’s Death (Folkestone, Kent, The Frogmore Press, 2000)
A Prehistory of Mind (Bay City, Michigan, Mayapple Press, 2008)
You’re Getting Terribly Blonde Lately (Oxford, privately printed, 2009)
Mortal Morning (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Flambard Press, Mar 2011)
Illogical Love Lyrics: Precarious Passions (privately printed, 2011)

Plays
Kindred Blood in Kensington Gore (London, Avernus, 1992)

Non-Fiction
Cities and Stones, A Traveller’s Yugoslavia. London, Faber, 1966.
The Shape of Further Things. London, Faber, 1970; New York, Doubleday, 1971.
Billion Year Spree, The History of Science Fiction. London, Weidenfeld, 1973; New York, Doubleday, 1973; revised (with David Wingrove) as Trillion Year Spree, London, Gollancz, 1986; US, 1986.
Science Fiction Art. US, 1975; London, New English Library, 1977.
This World and Nearer Ones, Essays Exploring the Familiar. London, Weidenfeld, 1979; US, Kent State, 1981.
Science Fiction Quiz. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983.
The Pale Shadow of Science (essays). Seattle, Washington, Serconia Press, 1985.
… And the Lurid Glare of the Comet (essays). Seattle, Washington, Serconia Press, 1986.
Bury My Heart at W.H. Smith’s (autobiography). London, Avernus, 1990; abridged, London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1990.
The Detached Retina (essays). Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 1995.
The Twinkling of an Eye; or, My Life as an Englishman. London, Little Brown, 1998.
When the Feast is Finished: Reflections on Terminal Illness. London, Little Brown, 1999.
Art After Apogee: The Relationships Between an Idea, a Story and Painting. Oxford, Avernus Media, 2000.
Researches and Churches in Serbia. London, Avernus, 2002.
The Other Hemisphere. Oxford, The Jam Factory Gallery, 2010.
An Exile on Planet Earth: Articles and Reflections. Ocford, Bodleian Library, 2012.

Anthologies
Penguin Science Fiction. London, Penguin, 1961.
More Penguin Science Fiction. London, Penguin, 1962.
Best Fantasy Stories. London, Faber, 1962.
Yet More Penguin Science Fiction. London, Penguin, 1964.
Introducing Science Fiction. London, Faber, 1964.
Nebula Award Stories II, with Harry Harrison. New York, Doubleday, 1967; as Nebula Award Stories 1967, London, Gollancz, 1967.
Years Best Science Fiction, 1967-75, with Harry Harrison. 9 volumes, London, Sphere, 1968-76; New York, Berkley, 1968- .
Farewell, Fantastic Venus, with Harry Harrison. London, Macdonald, 1968; revised as All About Venus, New York, Dell, 1968.
The Astounding-Analog Reader, with Harry Harrison. 2 volumes, New York, Doubleday, 1972-73; abridged, 2 volumes, London, Sphere, 1973.
A Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus (contains Penguin Science Fiction, More Penguin Science Fiction, Yet More Penguin Science Fiction). London, Penguin, 1973; as A Science Fiction Omnibus, London, Penguin, 2007.
Space Opera. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1974.
Space Odysseys. London, Futura, 1975.
Evil Earths. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1975.
Hell’s Cartographers, with Harry Harrison. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1975.
Decades, The 1940s, with Harry Harrison. London, Macmillan, 1975.
Decades, The 1950s, with Harry Harrison. London, Macmillan, 1976.
Galactic Empires. 2 volumes, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1976.
Decades, The 1960s, with Harry Harrison. London, Macmillan, 1977.
Perilous Planets. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1978.
The Penguin Omnibus of Science Fiction, with Sam Lundwall. London, Penguin, 1986.
My Madness, Selections from Anna Kavan. London, Picador, 1990.

About Brian W. Aldiss
Item Forty-Three—Brian W. Aldiss, A Bibliography 1954-1962 by Margaret Mauson. Wisbech, Fantast (Medway), 1962
Item Eighty-Three—Brian W. Aldiss, A Bibliography by Margaret Aldiss. Oxford, SF Horizons, 1972.
Aldiss Unbound, The Science Fiction of Brian W. Aldiss by Richard Matthews. California, Borgo Press, 1977.
Apertures: A Study of the Writings of Brian W. Aldiss by Brian Griffin & David Wingrove. Westport, Connecticut, Greenwood Press, 1984.
Brian W. Aldiss by Michael R. Collings. Mercer Island, Washington, Starmont House, 1986.
Brian Wilson Aldiss: A Man for all Season: A Working Bibliography by Phil Stephensen-Payne. Leeds, W. Yorkshire, Galactic Central Publications, 1990.
The Work of Brian W. Aldiss, An Annotated Bibliography and Guide by Margaret Aldiss. California, Borgo Press, 1992.
Brian Aldiss by Tom Henighan. New York, Twayne, 1999.

Auntie's Charlie by Charles Chilton

Auntie's Charlie

Steve Winders reviews Charles Chilton’s new autobiography

So many autobiographies today are about ‘celebrities’ in their twenties or thirties, many of whom have yet to achieve anything of note and most of whom have not even written the book themselves. Neither of these criticisms can be levelled at Charles Chilton, who at the age of ninety four has completed his own autobiography Auntie’s Charlie, the title alluding to his long career at the B.B.C.

Charles’ style is instantly recognisable. He tells the story of his life in the same clear and direct way that he recalled his work on Riders of the Range and Journey Into Space in radio interviews and in talks to the Eagle Society that I was fortunate to attend. Charles is an excellent communicator. Throughout his career at the B.B.C. producing a whole range of programmes, he was always an educator.

Charles produced some of British radio’s most famous programmes, including the Goon Show, the western drama Riders of the Range, the science fiction serial Journey Into Space and factual historical programmes based on the popular songs of the period concerned, such as Marching To Glory about the Salvation Army and The Long Long Trail about the First World War, which led to his significant involvement in the stage musical Oh What a Lovely War. However despite my great enthusiasm for Riders of the Range and Journey into Space, both of which Charles also created and wrote, I was amazed to find that the most gripping part of his narrative was his account of his early life in which he vividly recalls his boyhood in poverty in London between the wars. His poignant account of his mother’s sudden death when he was six years old is related in the first chapter, before he writes about his parents’ earlier lives and emphasises the profound effect it had on him.

His father died in the First World War without ever meeting Charles. After his mother’s death he was brought up by his paternal grandmother. His extended family of eight people shared just three rooms with one of them regularly condemned as unsuitable for habitation! Sleep was difficult as they had to cope with bedbugs in Summer and extreme cold in Winter. Charles describes many events in his childhood, both good and bad. He is eternally grateful that he and a few of his friends decided they would rather go to the pictures when others were going thieving from lorries. Those boys were caught and sent to Borstal! He is also grateful to the Boys’ Brigade whose activities were such happy experiences for him and this leaves the reader regretting that too many children today do not have access to such positive influences.

He joined the B.B.C. after leaving school, first as a messenger boy and then as an assistant in the Gramophone Library. Later he became a gramophone programme compiler and producer and along with Leslie Perowne he promoted jazz in Britain through programmes in the late thirties such as Swingtime and Kings of Jazz. He began to present programmes himself, but was temporarily stopped because of his London accent. How things have changed! In fact he has a clear friendly engaging voice which is easy to listen to.

He covers the early and potentially uninteresting part of his war service, when he was training to be a wireless operator and air gunner by including extracts from letters to his future wife Penny, which reveal his feelings at the time. Later he returned to radio, working for Radio Seac in Ceylon. He travelled to Ceylon from northern India by train and boat, after waiting too long for a place on an aircraft to become available. The plane he had been intended to fly in crashed and when he arrived in Ceylon everyone had assumed he was dead!

He writes in detail about his radio career back at the B.B.C. after the War, relating interesting anecdotes which bring his experiences to life. There are a couple of minor mistakes. In Riders of the Range Macdonald Parke played J.C. Macdonald, not Cal McCord and the B.B.C. didn’t repeat the recorded version of Journey Into Space in 1981 before Charles was asked to write a sequel The Return From Mars. They repeated it several years later between 1989 and 1991. These minor errors do not detract from his entertaining account of his life and work in radio which are further enhanced by his detailed accounts of his visits to America, first on behalf of Eagle weekly which ran a highly successful 'Riders of the Range' strip, written by Charles, for over eleven years and later on behalf of the B.B.C. If I can recall the incidents of my life as well as Charles remembers his when I am ninety I will be delighted. I only wish I could remember some of them now.

Charles acknowledges his wife Penny’s significant contribution to his life and work. One example of this is the research she carried out to help him ensure that his work was factually accurate. While this was clearly important in his historical work based on music, it was also a feature of Riders of the Range. By the same token Journey Into Space aimed to be as scientifically accurate as possible and Charles pays credit to Kenneth Gatland as technical adviser. He also praises the work of the artists Nando Tacconi who drew 'Journey Into Space' for Express Weekly and Frank Humphris, who drew 'Riders of the Range' in Eagle. Frank was as enthusiastic about the American west as Charles and as anxious to get the facts and details correct.

I would have liked to read more about Charles’ later programmes The Return From Mars and Space Force, which he was commissioned to write after his retirement from the B.B.C. However he says little about them apart from bemoaning the fact that he wasn’t allowed to produce them himself! I can well understand his frustration here as his programmes before his retirement were invariably his own work from conception to realisation. He does not mention the two recent Journey Into Space stories, first broadcast in April 2008 and June 2009 respectively as the last event mentioned in his book is his ninetieth birthday in June 2007.   

In his final chapter Charles describes the B.B.C. as his university, his music college and his introduction to literature and drama. He recalls the vision of its first Director General, Lord Reith, who wanted the B.B.C. “to inform, entertain and educate all those who wished to listen … so that at the end of the day they could feel enriched.”  Well Charles himself has informed, entertained and educated so many of us over the years and we are greatly enriched! I can recommend this book. We’ve waited a long time for it, but it was worth waiting for.

Comic Cuts - 2 September 2011

Some good news to start off with: Bear Alley Books is definitely going to to be publishing another collection of comic strips. The book was okayed on Tuesday and I've started working on the artwork. This doesn't mean I've forgotten about the Mike Western book; unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to concentrate on that since I ran into problems with the computer a couple of months ago and, subsequently, have been trying to pay off the new computer I had to buy.

This one will be a collection of three historical stories by C. L. Doughty that I can work on in evenings without interrupting the daily grind. Two of them will be reproduced almost entirely from original artwork.If all goes to plan, the three stories will be 'The Black Pirate', 'Pott's Progress' and 'A Sword for the Stadtholder' and whilst historical strips may not be to everyone's tastes, I can assure you that the artwork is absolutely superb, as you can see from the example above. The text still needs a bit of restoration but, with luck on my side, I should be able to clean up the artwork over the course of September and have the book out in October. That's the plan, anyway. Keep your fingers crossed.

This week's random scans... hawk-eyed commenters soon identified the original source of the William Ard cover by Victor Kalin I posted last week as Avon T296 and a dig around the net turned up a scan of the cover, which you'll find below.

As a treat I thought I'd dig out a bit of British good girl art, albeit for an American reprint. It has a terrific blurb on the back which deserves reprinting here:

In Hot Spot Steve Fisher has burned on to paper his impression of Hollywood, that fabulous offspring of the film industry. In prose that punches, against a background of arc-lights and film sets, he tells a tale of murder.
__Here is all the heartbreak and heaven of the studio, vivid and realistic. Gaudy Hollywood nights, the million coloured lights of Christmas, the hurrying steps of the crowded Boulevard; then star horror, running feet... escape to the waterfront. The sound of ships, the rumble of lorries, the bustle of people. Whispers in the dark. A man and a girl, afraid, hiding, running, behind them the long shadow of the relentless pursuer.
__There have been many stories of Hollywood, but few more real and dramatic than this. It is a bittersweet story, filled with laughter and tears - and terror. it is a story you will long remember.

Fisher was chiefly a screenwriter for movies and TV but had begun as a writer for pulps, selling to Black Mask, Doc Savage, The Shadow and dozens of others. Hot Spot was one of two dozen novels he wrote and was originally published as - and better known as - I Wake Up Screaming. The movie Hot Spot was released in 1941 and starred Betty Grable Victor Mature and Carole Landis. It was filmed again as Vicki in 1953 with Jeanne Crain, Jean Peters  and Elliott Reid.

The scan is actually from an eBay sale and rather small, so if anyone has a copy that they could scan and send me it would be much appreciated.

And finally I mentioned Charles Harness a couple of weeks ago and I said I'd have to dig out a copy of his excellent novel The Rose. It's actually a novella rather than a novel and had something of a checkered history. When he wrote the story, Harness could not find a publisher and, eventually, it appeared in the British SF magazine Authentic Science Fiction (#31, March 1953) and disappeared from the newsstands a month later and would probably have remained a lost classic had it not been for Mike Moorcock who remembered the story and, during his time as an editor at Compact Books (who were publishing the Moorcock-edited New Worlds) arranged for The Rose to be reprinted, along with a couple of shorter stories to bring it up to book length, as Compact F295 (1966), for which edition Moorcock wrote an introduction.

The same selection was then published by Sidgwick & Jackson in hardback in 1968, with Moorcock revising his introduction; it was then reprinted by Panther Books (0586-02879-X) in 1969 with a cover by Michael McInnerney. That same year it received its first US edition (Berkley, 1969). It subsequently became the lead story in the massive NESFA Press collection An Ornament of His Profession (1998). Moorcock was not the only British author to champion Harness: Brian Aldiss was responsible for the reprinting of The Paradox Men.

Next week: a 4-part 'Man Who Searched for Fear' serial, plus whatever else I can cram in. Tomorrow, I'm handing over to Steve Winders for a review of Charles Chilton's autobiography, Auntie's Charlie, and Sunday we should have a Brian Aldiss gallery.