Today I became aware that The Martian Chronicles has a chapter called "The Naming of Names", and that that was also the original title of the short story "Dark They Were and Golden Eyed".

Was "Dark They Were" ever included in "The Martian Chronicles"? I've been wondering whether that would explain the identical titles. (I have a UK edition of Chronicles and a French edition - no sign of Dark They Were in either of them.)

Ah, "Dark they were..." has always been a particular favourite of mine! But I don't think it has ever been a part of the The Martian Chronicles. It doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the stories; rather, I have always thought of it as an alternate ending for the book. It could easily replace the chapter "The Million Year Picnic," but I don't think both stories could be included together in the book.

The only story that I know of that has been deleted from the book is "Way in the Middle of the Air," and that can be found in the latest short story collection Bradbury Stories.

The reason you named would be the only one I could think of for "Dark They Were" not appearing in any edition of "The Martian Chronicles." There has been talk here of a "Martian Chronicles 2" incorporating all the "other" stories, but those in the know have not felt emboldened to mention it to Ray. A few problems are, the other stories are wildly different in tone from each other and the original work, and it would have to be not just a collection of the stories in the order in which they appeared, but organized like the original, with a natural progression from pre-earth men to post earth-men occupation. When we come up with an idea we think he'd really like, perhaps we'll mention both.

Okay, my idea for an MC II proposal would be a story list in the following form:
All the "Mars, non-MC" stories from the "Complete" list...when I complete it. There would have to be two other sections--one for all the non-Martian outer space stories, plus a "P. S." (?) list for stories I've never so much as seen so don't know if they're Martian or not. (Those left over when the "complete" list is completed to the best of my ability. Before the latest collection came out I started a list of ultra-rare stories to indicate what I do and don't have, which appears under the "Complete Story Listings" thread. If anyone has copies of such stories which I don't, please be in touch.) The stories would simply be listed in order of publication, with an "official" MC Table of Contents (which could be copied from the most recent edition) with the stories numbered and corresponding numbers following the non-MC titles to indicate the approximate order as they relate to the official stories. As far as I know, there are no strictly pre-Earth-contact stories (anyone?) so order would be exploration, first contact, settlement, and sort of post-settlement abandonment. If Ray loved the idea, it would be cool if he'd write bridge passages and rewrite stories which don't quite "fit." If not, I'd only be out making a list of stories, not compiling a whole collection. I'll try to make this an indoor project this fall/winter.

[This message has been edited by dandelion (edited 09-08-2003).]