A Writing Day

Yesterday was a joyful day as I returned to work on The New Annotated Frankenstein. I know that it’s not due to be turned in until June 2016, but I have no other active projects as the moment: In the Company of Sherlock Holmes, the new anthology with Laurie R. King, has gone off to the publisher while we wait on the decision of the 7th Circuit. Annotated Sandman, Vol. 4, is done, and in the hands of Neil Gaiman, awaiting his edits (and won’t come out until next Spring anyway). So, back to writing Frankenstein notes.

These are the notes for the very first chapter of the book, Walton’s letter to his sister, in which he talks of his plans to explore the Arctic Circle. There’s a lot to cover: Arctic exploration prior to the 19th century, William Gilbert’s theory of the magnetic North Pole, the myths of Hyperborea and the paradise to be found in the Far North, the state of travel writing in the late 18th century–all for just the first page or two!

I’ve already completed a detailed textual analysis of the 1818 vs. 1831 editions of Frankenstein, and those notes plus other topics that interest me add up to over 400 notes. The text is of course much shorter than the Lovecraft material that I finished recently (over 900 notes there), and compared to the Holmes books (3,000 notes), this looks like I can get it done in a reasonable time and take on some additional projects.

Plans are coming together for a book tour for The New Annotated H. P. Lovecraft in October. At this point, I plan on events in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Providence, and New York. Stay tuned!

1 Comment

  1. Rebecca Long Okura on June 11, 2014 at 12:48 am

    Mr. Klinger, I have read and enjoyed every single word and annotation of the three volumes of The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes. I also just completed your Annotated Dracula. Your work is perfect- enough information to stimulate, not so much as to distract. I have bought the complete Gasogene Books The Sherlock Holmes Reference Library and started with The Apocrypha of Sherlock Holmes. As I go to delve into the rest of the canon, I was wondering if you have a record of annotations found in the reference library that are different than, or absent from, The New Annotated? Also, I was wondering if you have any future intention of annotating the complete works of Edgar Allan Poe, as the contemporary of Lovecraft, A.C.D., and Stoker. His works are sorely in need of your skills to bring them to life for modern readers. Oddly, I’ve only bought two complete series of “comic books” in my entire life and one was The Sandman series. So I guess your annotations are my next purchase. My interests and yours weirdly overlap, as I am also an attorney. Happy annotating and thank you for adding immensely to the pleasure of reading these wonderful stories.

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