Author Biography

R. B. Russell is an author, composer, and publisher, co-running Tartarus Press with Rosalie Parker. As a fiction writer, he has published four collections of short fiction, three novellas, and one novel to date.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. The Outsider by Colin Wilson 2. The Hill of Dreams by Arthur Machen 3. The Most Haunted House in England by Harry Price 4. The Diary of a Drug Fiend by Aleister Crowley 5. The Other by Thomas Tryon 6. Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet 7. The Tenant by Roland Topor 8. Two Symphonies by Andr

Review

'A groovy and delicious and intimate jigsaw of memories and passions and books, and schisms and oddities and books – Ray Russell is a bibliomaniac that it is a delight to spend time with. Falling in love with books voraciously, whilst growing up ferociously, has never been so beautifully described – a memoir that is as accurate and enthralling as it is dreamlike – just like the books about which he writes with such love!' David Tibet ---- 'R. B. Russell's beautifully told part-memoir gives us the story of a life lived alongside books, and the joyous way in which those dusty first editions often reverberate throughout our lives.' Ed Parnell ---- 'A compelling celebration of reading, writing, publishing and the unexpected treasures to be found in second hand bookshops. Ray Russell writes so eloquently about his deep love of books as things in themselves but also his joy of discovering the new, the strange – those books that act as life's waymarkers.' Andrew Michael Hurley ---- 'This is a book to send you scurrying to the dusty mote-filled light of the secondhand book shop, to the chilliness of the jumble sale, to late nights at the blue screen of the laptop, seeking out the books you don't know and can't wait to know, and to renew old acquaintances. A memoir and commonplace book as delicate, suggestive and enchanting as the books themselves.' Stuart Maconie ---- 'Absolutely wonderful. A unique and enchanting memoir like no other. A book lover's paean to the volumes that made him, which also opens a window on his soul. Charming, vivid and singularly evocative.' Jeremy Dyson ---- 'Decadents, bohemians, cult musicians, the odd (very odd) spy, shady publishers, backstreet booksellers, writers of the weird and wayward, they're all here. R. B. Russell's memoir gives us literature on the edge, in all its wonderful strangeness.' Mark Valentine ---- 'Whether Russell is remembering his discovery of Arthur Machen, chronicling his sometimes comic negotiations with the crafty bookdealer George Locke, or reflecting on his own personal library of tatty paperbacks, signed firsts and rare association copies, he makes clear that a bookish life can be an enviably rewarding one, replete with the quiet satisfactions of the study, the rowdy pleasures of the literary conference, and warm friendships with the learned, the widely read and, not least, the winningly eccentric.' Michael Dirda

Promotional

A love letter to bookshops and bookselling, and a book browser's dream

Long Description

Fifty Forgotten Books is a very special sort of book about books, by a great bookman and for book-people of all ages and levels of experience. Not quite literary criticism, not quite an autobiography, it is at once a guided tour through the dusty backrooms of long vanished used bookstores, a love letter to bookshops and bookselling, and a browser's dream wish list of often overlooked and unloved novels, short story collections, poetry collections and works of nonfiction. In these pages, R. B. Russell, publisher of Tartarus Press, doesn't only discuss the books of his life, but explains what they have meant to him over time, charting his progress as a writer and publisher for over thirty years . . . and a bibliophile for many more. Here is living proof of how literature, books, and book collecting can be an intrinsic part of one's personal, professional and imaginative life, and as not only a solitary act, but a social one, resulting in treasured friendships, experiences, and loves one might never, otherwise, have enjoyed. Filled with a lively nostalgia for the era when finding strange new books meant pounding the pavement and not just filling in search engines, Fifty Forgotten Books is for anyone who wishes they could still browse the dusty bookshelves of their youth, and who can't wait to get back out into the world in quest of the next text liable to change their life. 'A groovy and delicious and intimate jigsaw of memories and passions and books, and schisms and oddities and books -- Ray Russell is a bibliomaniac that it is a delight to spend time with. Falling in love with books voraciously, whilst growing up ferociously, has never been so beautifully described -- a memoir that is as accurate and enthralling as it is dreamlike -- just like the books about which he writes with such love!' -- David Tibet 'R. B. Russell's beautifully told part-memoir gives us the story of a life lived alongside books, and the joyous way in which those dusty first editions often reverberate throughout our lives.' -- Ed Parnell 'A compelling celebration of reading, writing, publishing and the unexpected treasures to be found in second hand bookshops. Ray Russell writes so eloquently about his deep love of books as things in themselves but also his joy of discovering the new, the strange -- those books that act as life's way markers.' -- Andrew Michael Hurley

Review Quote

Praise for R. B. Russell "Highly engaging. . . . Among the leading practitioners of classic supernatural fiction." --Michael Dirda "Lovers of obscure authors and literature will welcome this eclectic collection . . . from British editor Russell. His easy, accessible style is a delight to read." --Publishers Weekly "Ray Russell's stories . . . are captivating for their depth of mystery and haunting melancholy. These qualities place Russell in a tradition of authors that includes Sheridan Le Fanu and Ramsey Campbell, storytellers whose works proceed with a creeping uneasiness that leaves a lasting impression on the reader." --Thomas Ligotti

Excerpt from Book

I chose the name of my press after a reference made by Arthur Machen to Sheffield when he visited the city during the Great War. Because of the steelworks there was no point in having a 'blackout' - the furnaces lit everything up with an unearthly, fiery glow. The steelworkers were on extra wages because of the increase in production for the war-effort, and they all seemed to spend their money freely in the public houses. Machen was in awe of the way the steelworkers replaced the fluids they had sweated-out by drinking pints and pints of bitter. He considered the city to be a wonderful incarnation of that mythical suburb of hell, Tartarus

Description for Sales People

* Love and nostalgia for the used and antiquarian bookstores and booksellers through Russell's interlinking of the books he found, and how and where he found them. Each book has a different story, and each bookstore. negotiating, and connection-building between one author and the next. * A pleasurable way to be introduced to 50 gems, largely of supernatural fiction from one of the most knowledgeable and astute readers in this area. Readers cooped up in their homes for the past years of lockdown will love to get their hands dirty (figuratively speaking) in Russell's book browsing, negotiating, and connection-building between one author and the next. * Charming, horizon-widening, obsession-creating mainstream debut of beloved figure. Fifty Forgotten Books is as much of a delight as being led by hand by a trusted friend through the stacks of a rambling bookstore that you might never be able to find again. * High production value for a collectible edition, ideal for gift giving. Paper jacket over the paperback, with an illustration on the cover underneath the jacket.

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