Talk:The Skylark of Space

Editions
I have a 1974 Panther edition, which does say that it was specially revised by the author. The question is whether the write-up is in error or do the editions vary significantly. I recognise the plot synopsis but details differ; for instance, the "copper tub" that "blasts hole through the wall" in my edition was a "copper steam-bath" that flew "through the open window". A missing steam-bath would require some explanation but a great hole in the wall could hardly go unnoticed, so as a revision it makes sense. 86.162.192.240 (talk) 23:44, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

Aspects of this plot synopsis do not match the magazine version (the Gutenberg edition is based on my scans of a friend's copies of the magazines, and I still have the images to verify against), the second edition hardcover (which I own), or the 1960s American paperbacks (which I own and nearly know by heart :-) ). The first paragraph of the magazine edition contains the copper vessel departing at speed, and the magazine version says this:  "PETRIFIED with astonishment. Richard Seaton stared after the copper steam-bath upon which he had been electrolyzing his solution of X, the unknown metal. For as soon as he had removed the beaker the heavy bath had jumped endwise from under his hand as though it were alive. It had flown with terrific speed over the table. smashing apparatus and bottles of chemicals on its way, and was even now disappearing through the open window."  It's a steam-bath just like in your edition, and it goes through the open window, not the wall. The 1947 edition is the same in the key things you questioned -- it's called a steam-bath, and it goes through an open window (there are quite a few little changes). So I'm going to try to change the wrong details in the synopsis just a bit. Dd-b (talk) 18:55, 27 January 2013 (UTC)


 * I recently looked at the first pages of the Amazing serialization, the hardback third first edition (1950), and the Pyramid seventh printing (1970); all three differed substantially, with the biggest difference between Amazing and the hardback. The paperback, of course, normalized Seaton’s assistant’s dialect.
 * — FlashSheridan (talk) 15:44, 3 December 2017 (UTC), revised 2018-01-15 9:19 PM EST

Chapters
The Pyramid edition has no chapter titles, but (at least initially) they correspond to the text of the hardcover (indicated with a ditto mark for close correspondence, and a tilde for rough correspondence). The U.S. Gutenberg edition uses the Amazing text, the Canadian uses the Pyramid 1966 third printing of the May 1958 edition, except for the usual Gutenberg spurious line breaks. I own the hardback third edition (1950), the Pyramid seventh printing (1970), the ADV Plans DVDs, and the August Amazing, but am mainly working from the Archive.org copies (https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v03n05_1928-08_ATLPM-Urf, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v03n06_1928-09, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v03n07_1928-10_missing_ifc_ibc_bc) and Gutenberg ebooks. (ADV Plans’ August edition contains only the cover and the Buck Rogers story, and is missing September and October.)

—FlashSheridan (talk) 00:31, 15 January 2018 (UTC) – 2018-03-15

Selected Variorum

 * “space-car” Amazing (27 times) and hardback, e.g., first occurrence ch. IV/7 p. 338/68, “spaceship” in Pyramid.

— FlashSheridan (talk) 16:49, 9 May 2018 (UTC)