Dark Carnival (book)

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Dark Carnival
jacket by George Burrows for Dark Carnival by Ray Bradbury
Dust-jacket photo montage by George Burrows for Dark Carnival
Author Ray Bradbury
Cover artist George Burrows
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Science fiction, fantasy, horror short stories
Publisher Arkham House
Publication date 1947
Media type Print (Hardback)
Pages 313 pp
ISBN NA

Dark Carnival is a collection of the following Ray Bradbury short stories, published in October 1947:

  • "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 Coffin"
  • "Interim"
  • "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"
Cover of the 2001 Gauntlet Press edition, with painting by Bradbury
Cover of the 2001 Gauntlet Press edition, with painting by Bradbury

Dark Carnival was Bradbury's first published book. 3,112 copies were printed by Arkham House, under the editorial direction of August Derleth. All but six of the stories had been first published elsewhere, although Bradbury revised some of the texts.

For many years, Bradbury did not permit Dark Carnival to be reprinted, since updated versions of many of the stories were collected as The October Country. However, a limited edition of Dark Carnival, with five extra stories and a new introduction by Bradbury, was printed by Gauntlet Press in 2001.

On August 22, 2006, "The Homecoming" was published as a stand-alone short story with illustrations by Dave McKean.

[edit] References

  • Jaffery, Sheldon (1989). The Arkham House Companion. Mercer Island, WA: Starmont House, Inc., 25-26. ISBN 1-55742-005-X. 
  • Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd., 31. 
  • Joshi, S.T. (1999). Sixty Years of Arkham House: A History and Bibliography. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 42-43. ISBN 0-87054-176-5. 
  • Nielsen, Leon (2004). Arkham House Books: A Collector's Guide. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland & Company, Inc., 63. ISBN 0-7864-1785-4.