tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401124973760279564.post751175967390224295..comments2023-12-31T00:21:10.591-05:00Comments on The Education of a Pulp Writer: Book Group: SOLOMON’S Chapter OneDavid Cranmerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401124973760279564.post-56675365341857699022011-05-15T07:20:32.379-04:002011-05-15T07:20:32.379-04:00Evan, Using the sometimes reliable Wikipedia I cou...Evan, Using the sometimes reliable Wikipedia I count eighteen adventures. It appears Haggard had a good run right up to a few years before his death. Now I'm wondering who was fiction's adventurer prior to Quatermain? Obviously A.Q. influenced everyone from Doc Savage to Indiana Jones after but was there someone before?<br /><br />Randy, Very true that words can change meanings with time. <br /><br />But I believe (I could be wrong here) colonialism was a super controversial topic even in 1885. Many folks didn't have the warm feeling about England conquering the globe in the name of the Queen and spreading their 'superior' culture.<br /><br />Btw I think you're going to have trouble with one chapter a day. You usually read a book while most people are brushing their teeth in the morning. :)David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401124973760279564.post-80029766041092702522011-05-15T03:22:14.089-04:002011-05-15T03:22:14.089-04:00It's early in the morning and I got a jump on ...It's early in the morning and I got a jump on the rest of you, just finishing chapter two.<br /><br />Per the current thread, I take the attitude of these early writers with a grain of salt. As pointed out, one doesn't know exactly what the words might have meant. Example, some of these early books refer to people being gay in an entirely different sense.Randy Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16627907086811387527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401124973760279564.post-37204067400536688692011-05-15T02:59:18.853-04:002011-05-15T02:59:18.853-04:00Great book. As are the others in the series.Great book. As are the others in the series.Evan Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07620731784654779358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401124973760279564.post-20328712321232579802011-05-14T23:11:15.065-04:002011-05-14T23:11:15.065-04:00Rich, My vision of A.Q. was corrupted early on by ...Rich, My vision of A.Q. was corrupted early on by the Chamberlain film. And like you, I enjoy Extraordinary Gentleman but had no idea a more intriguing character waited in the original. I have to chuckle at your astute observation of the Curtis laundry hanging out there. Too funny.<br /><br />Chris, I just looked up kafir and the definition <i>is a term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever", or sometimes "infidel". The term refers to a person who rejects God or who hides, denies, or "covers" the truth.</i> Yeah I can see where folks would be offended.<br /><br />Oh and you're right about today's language in books. I'm betting a majority of it won't be looked on favorably a hundred years from now.David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401124973760279564.post-25091174158781268162011-05-14T22:19:53.953-04:002011-05-14T22:19:53.953-04:00Damn blogger just ate a long response I'd post...Damn blogger just ate a long response I'd posted. Grrr.<br /><br />Anyway, I had said that in the introduction to the edition I have, it is pointed out that while Q comments on the "n-word", he consistently uses the word <i>kafir</i> which is a term in South Africa every bit as offensive. It also points out various questionable descriptions he uses, and some mean-spirited jokes concerning Africans.<br /><br />Hard to judge writers from this era -- or guys like Burroughs or Howard -- with our modern sensibilities. Enlightened they may or may not have been for their time, but words change. Who knows what words we commonly throw around now that will be unthinkable to use 50 years from now. Hell, the way I see some people throw around terms like "redneck", "white trash", "faggot" and "whore" make me bristle already. I'm sure I'm not the only one.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10070278104646895235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401124973760279564.post-52081373020875416412011-05-14T22:19:37.634-04:002011-05-14T22:19:37.634-04:00I’m pleased to find A.Q. more richly developed tha...I’m pleased to find A.Q. more richly developed than popular media has led me to believe. The movies had me thinking of the clichéd manly adventurer, while Alan Moore’s depiction of him in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (the comic book) is almost the opposite, and perhaps arguably just as stereotypical. <br /><br />As to his character, I had to chuckle at the irony of this line:<br /><br />“Of course,” said I, for I rather pride myself on my discretion, for which, as Sir Henry had heard, I have some repute.<br /><br />And yet here he is, writing it all down, airing the Curtis family laundry for an audience of readers that would enjoy this book and reach into the tens (hundreds?) of thousands during the next century.<br /><br />Looking forward to Chap. 2!Richard Proschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08314680709014254183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401124973760279564.post-20465934043441771302011-05-14T22:06:41.077-04:002011-05-14T22:06:41.077-04:00"... is more a designation of class than race..."... is more a designation of class than race." I read it that way as well, Ron.<br /> <br />I believe the quote was "The empire on which the sun never sets." And I'm betting colonialism will factor in substantially by the end.David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5401124973760279564.post-15389786889210503532011-05-14T20:44:14.422-04:002011-05-14T20:44:14.422-04:00Hard to know what's racism and what's clas...Hard to know what's racism and what's classism in fiction from this period. Q's point about Africans deserving to be called gentlemen suggests that the n-word is more a designation of class than race. He's portraying himself as traveled and worldly, able thus to judge character better than readers who've never left home.<br /><br />There's some nationalism in Q's attitude, too, linked to racial superiority. Didn't the British Empire extend over 25% of the world's population at this time?...Thanks for starting a thread.Ron Scheerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15357501069513854664noreply@blogger.com