I recently got my hands on a copy of "Dark Carnival," Mr. Bradbury's first book of short stories that was published in 1947. There are some stories in this book that have not appeared in print since the book's publication. Good stuff. Does anyone else out there have it? I would enjoy discussing and hearing thoughts from other fans.
Andy Burnside-Weaver

Andy, I always love to discuss "Dark Carnival"--my favorite book. Did you pick up the new edition by Guantlet? It's expensive, but it's really worth it.

Andy, I'm still blowing hot and cold as to whether I should order the new edition (I'm sure my decision will soon be made for me!), but I wish you would tell me which stories have not appeared elsewhere. I have the story list from the original edition and from this it seems that only something called "Interim" and "Night Sets" have not appeared in subsequent collections. Are these real stories, or just bridge passages?

Douglas,

Yeah, a lot of these stories have appeared elsewhere, but many of them in obscure anthologies. Some of them were in the Britsh pb "The Small Assassin", but stories like"Reunion", "The Maiden", "Interim" etc. are very hard to track down. "Interim", though a very short tale is exceptional. Most of these stories are slightly different than the versions appearing in The October Country. As far as the new Gauntlet edition of Dark Carnival, it's expensive, but it's very cool. Each story is accompanied by a reproduction of the magazine cover in which it appeared and some words by Ray as to where the story came from, what it means to him. There's also notes by Ray's biographer Donn Albright, an article on the history of Dark Carnival and a pretty cool article by Ray himself called Dark Carnival Revisited. The book has lots of goodies in it like that as well archival selections from Ray's notes on the book etc. It also includes some lost tales. Granted, it's expensive, but word has it there will be NO trade hardcover or pb edition--it took Donn Albright years to convince Ray to re-do the book, but once he got going on the project, he was very enthusiastic. Hope this rambling helps.

Okay, so where/how does one go about ordering a copy, and how much is it?

Hi guys, I've been gone for a while. Tim C. pretty much said it all. I have the Gauntlet edition, it is my most prized material possesion. I also opted for the CD of Mr. Bradbury, discussing all of the stories in the book. It really is a wonderful thing to have. Dandelion,to find out aboout it go to gauntletpress.com.
Andy B.

Also, many of the stories that ended up in The October Country, were modified by Mr. Bradbury. the dark carnival versions are a lot grittier.
Andy B.

dandelion, last I saw it was $150 thru amazon.com. Not sure if there are any left.
PS I tend to have the British editions of most of RB's books, so I have The Small Assassin (paperback). There is also a companion volume called The October Country, which is quite different from the famous fifties collection by that name. Together, these have most of the Dark Carnival contents.

Douglas -

Yep, it's well worth the money for all the reasons mentioned above. I got a copy for Christmas, and it's simply fantastic. From the cover art by Ray himself to the stories, reproduced manuscript pages, letters, covers, etc., it's an amazing production of a superb collection.

Agreed! Yeah, Douglas, I have the British paperback of Dark Carnival and the October Country, too (great cover art)...but trust me on this, pal, the updated Dark Carnival is really an experience. I tried hard for a lot of years to get Dark Carnival, but the Arkham edition was just insane--I've seen em going for as much as a grand! And now to have this book at a fraction of the cost and not just THE BOOK, but a much better book! It's great. And Andy's definitely on track there, the Dark Carnival versions are nastier than the October Country ones.

Okay, I ordered the book and the CD, and wow...that WAS expensive! Still hurts, and will smart for a while, but would have hurt a lot worse if I'd found out too late to get them! How long have these been out? Knowing how interested I am, I just wonder why no one "in the know" let me know of their existence, and I had to find out here?

Dandelion,

I actually pre-ordered my copy last summer, June, I think. I was surfing some Bradbury sites and someone mentioned it on a post. I know it was expensive, but much cheaper than a really nice Arkham House edition, right? And, trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Man, nobody tells me anything. Anyway, here are a few excerpts from the Gauntlet Press site on the Table of Contents for the new edition:

Table of Contents (from original edition)The Homecoming
Skeleton
The Jar
The Lake
The Maiden
The Tombstone
The Smiling People
The Emissary
The Traveler
The Small Assassin
The Crowd
Reunion
The Handler
The CoffinInterim
Jack-In-The-Box
The Scythe
Let's Play "Poison"
Uncle Einar
The Wind
The Night
There Was An Old Woman
The Dead Man
The Man Upstairs
The Night Sets
Cistern
The Next In Line
27 stories with several more to be added for this DEFINITIVE edition.

In addition, we are pleased to announce that Ray Bradbury has agreed to allow the inclusion of five additional short stories in the Gauntlet version of DARK CARNIVAL; stories that did not appear in the original and have been reprinted infrequently, if at all. All were originally published in Weird Tales and were at one time considered for publication in the original version of DARK CARNIVAL. Four will appear in the book ("The Seashells" "The Watchers" "The Poems" and "Bang! You're Dead") and a fifth, "Time Intervening", will be an exclusive chapbook for those purchasing through Gauntlet.

The link below will take you to a discussion devoted (primarily) to the Arkham House first edition of Ray Bradbury's DARK CARNIVAL, and how much the writer thinks of the book. Boy, has that book gotten expensive! (And I still remember Ray telling me that it took Arkham House several years to sell all of its copies!)

https://www.bruceb.com/2023/04...y-and-dark-carnival/

I've heard talk about a new limited edition Subterranean Press version of Dark Carnival, with illustrations by Dave McKean. I've seen pix of the cover on Facebook.

I wonder if it will reprint any of the materials from the delightful Gauntlet Press edition?

I've heard about an October release, but that seems to be very close to have no details.

Anybody have any details on this release?