Robert E. Howard Readers discussion

Hi,

Reading about the different editions of Howard’s works, it seemed to me that anything published before the 90s had been edited and that one couldn’t find stories as Howard wrote them in the old paperbacks from the 70s.

But I’ve started comparing these with my Del Reys and find that many are exactly the same, word for word.

My question is this : has anyone compiled a list of stories that were never modified since Howard’s death? If so, where can I find it?

Another way, maybe shorter, would be to list those that were modified. I know the Conan stories were edited way back. I have also read that some Solomon Kane ones were changed?

I don’t care if people are for or against these changes. This is not the place for such a debate. I just think people should know when they read a story that was modified by someone else than the original author.

Thanks,

Mathieu

I don't know of one, but Howard modified many of his own stories, too. Do they count?

I guess not. As long as he was aware of the change, as in when they were made within his lifetime.

You can find a list of all his works, when & where they were published here:
http://howardworks.com/storya.htm#abbe

That might get you started on figuring out versions.

Some of the edits are very small.

'A small example of de Camp's unwarranted editing can be found by taking just one of the sentences from the unedited version and comparing it with the Lancer/Ace version of "The Frost Giant's Daughter":

Howard wrote, "Her maddening laughter floated back to him, and foam flew from the barbarian's lips."

De Camp re-wrote: "Foam flew from the barbarian's lips as her maddening laughter floated back to him."' (http://www.barbariankeep.com/issues.html)

Some more details are here: http://www.barbariankeep.com/edited.html

The Donald M Grant versions of the Conan stories were edited as well. Usually to take out wording that was deemed "offensive" .

You can buy the original typewritten stories from the Cross Plains library. Well, photocopies anyway!
http://www.crossplainslibrary.com/rob...

I purchased a few. It's a great fundraiser for the library. I don't buy them to study them though. I just like to collect.

I am sure no one here would be pointing the finger at collecting RE Howard material! I enjoyed looking at them, thinking how easy writers have it today with word processing. I remember typing up things, and it was not a fun job.

Vincent wrote: "Some of the edits are very small.

'A small example of de Camp's unwarranted editing can be found by taking just one of the sentences from the unedited version and comparing it with the Lancer/Ace..."

An edit both pointless and not as good as the REH original.