To document further the difficulties Horace McCoy had to
publish some of his most interesting novels in the USA, I
copy here two messages I sent to a R-A thread concerning
these facts in April 99.
QUOTE
- 1.- NO POCKETS IN A SHROUD is a very good novel, one of the
greats by McCoy. But there is a problem...
Nobody in America wanted to publish McCoy's novel when it was
ready in 1936, because he was taking on toughly on the "news"
establishment with politically incorrect problems for the USA
of the time, like: racism, fascism, and of course public
corruption, addressed in the book. Finally a publisher in
Europe (UK) issued the book in 1937, and I think it was
translated rather quickly into French as well. Only in 1948 a
"purged" and mutilated version was published in the
USA.
McCoy was vilified by the critics in the USA and despised as
being vulgar, crude... well, you see the motto.
There was a (in)famous article by Edmund Wilson that compared
him to James Cain and concluded that he was way inferior...!
Don't believe it neither. When in 1948 KISS TOMORROW GOOD BYE
was published, the American critics circus started all over
again...
In 1952, a novelization of a script was not published because
McCoy refused to make the cuts and modifications requested by
the American publishers. That was: THIS IS DYNAMITE. Marcel
Duhamel of Serie Noire, one of the early supporters of
McCoy's novels in France, accepted it and was published there
in 1953. It was finally published in the USA in 1959 under
the title: CORRUPTION CITY.
Horace McCoy is one of the best American (HB/Noir) writers,
by any standard; just read it to be convinced. Stay away from
the American critics of his time, that could be echoed in
later "literary" valuations of his work.
But try to find the complete version of NO POCKETS IN A
SHROUD... E.B.
- 2.- After an exchange on R-A of totally contradictory
valuations of KISS TOMORROW GOOD-BYE, novel for which I (and
others) was a supporter:
---Bill Crider <
abc@wt.net> wrote:
> As for the two versions of KISS TOMORROW
GOOD-BYE,
they certainly exist. I
> have copies of both the 1940s Signet
paperback,
which appears to be a
> severely abridged version, and the
hardcover
edition.
>
Thanks for the confirmation. By reading the thread I had the
impression (probably wrong) it was not established as a
fact.
The existence of two different versions could perhaps, as I
suggested, be one of the reasons why the novel was so
differently appreciated. E.B.
UNQUOTE
E.Borgers Hard-Boiled Mysteries http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6384
--- Etienne Borgers <
freeweb@rocketmail.com> wrote:
> To add to Richard Moore's details about
H.McCoy's
> life
> and works:
>
> He was one of the successful writers of "Black
Mask"
> (starting there end 1927) but his success
came
> mostly
> from a series with Jerry Frost sort of ace pilot
of
> a
> squadron named "Hell's Stepson's".
> Due to the disaster of the Depression he lost
his
> job
> as a journalist. and went to Hollywood in
1931,
> where
> he appeared in small parts for a few films (I
didn't
> find traces about which ones)
>SNIPPED
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