Talbot Mundy
Talbot Mundy | |
---|---|
Manatee County, Florida , United States | |
Pen name | Walter Galt |
Occupation | Short story writer, novelist |
Citizenship | British (1879–1917) American (1917–1940) |
Genre | Adventure-fiction |
Spouse | Kathleen Steele (m.1903–08) Inez Craven (m.1908–12) Harriette Rosemary Strafer (m.1913–24) Sally Ames (1924–31) Theda "Dawn" Webber (1931–40) |
Talbot Mundy (born William Lancaster Gribbon, 23 April 1879 – 5 August 1940) was an English writer of adventure fiction. Based for most of his life in the United States, he also wrote under the pseudonym of Walter Galt. Best known as the author of King of the Khyber Rifles and the Jimgrim series, much of his work was published in pulp magazines.
Mundy was born to a conservative middle-class family in
Becoming a U.S. citizen, in 1918 he joined the
During Mundy's career his work was often compared with that of his more commercially successful contemporaries, H. Rider Haggard and Rudyard Kipling, although unlike their works he adopted an anti-colonialist stance and expressed a positive interest in Asian religion and philosophy. His work has been cited as an influence on a variety of later science-fiction and fantasy writers, and he has been the subject of two biographies.
Early life
Childhood: 1879–99
Mundy was born as William Lancaster Gribbon on 23 April 1879 at his parental home of 59 Milson Road,
Mundy was raised into a conservative middle-class Victorian milieu.[8] His father owned a successful accountancy business and was director of the Woking Water and Gas Company, as well as being an active member of the Conservative Party and Primrose League. He was also a devout Anglican, serving as warden at St. Luke's Church.[9] The family went on summer holidays to southern coastal towns such as Hythe, Sandgate, and Charmouth, with Mundy also spending time visiting relatives in Bardney, Lincolnshire.[8] He attended Grove House, a preparatory school in Guildford, Surrey, before receiving a scholarship to attend Rugby School, where he arrived in September 1893.[10]
In 1895 his father died of a
India and East Africa: 1899–1909
Talbot's accounts of the following years are unreliable, tainted by his own fictionalised claims about his activities.
Securing a job as a reporter for the Daily Mail, in March 1901 he returned to India aboard the Caledonia. His assignment was to report on the Mahsud uprising against the British administration led by Mulla Pawindah. On this assignment, he accompanied British troops although only reached as far as Peshawar, not entering the Khyber Pass which he would use as a setting for later stories.[24] While in Rajputana he had his first experience with an Indian guru,[25] and after his assignment he went tiger hunting.[26] In Bombay in 1901 he met Englishwoman Kathleen Steele, and they had returned to Britain by late 1902, where he gained work for the Walton and Company merchant firm in Holborn.[27] The couple married in Westminster in January 1903.[28] By this point he had amassed large debts, and with his wife fled to Cape Town, South Africa to evade his creditors; in his absence he was declared bankrupt. He wife returned to London, and they never saw each other again.[29] From there, he claimed to have boarded a merchant sailing vessel to Australia, where he spent time in Sydney and Brisbane before sailing back to Africa and disembarking in Laurenço Marques, Portuguese East Africa.[30]
In February 1904 he arrived in Mombasa, British East Africa, later claiming that he initially worked as a hunter.[31] He also claimed that while near Shirati, he was shot in the leg with a poison spear by a Masai who was stealing his cattle.[32] He travelled to Muanza in German East Africa, where he was afflicted with blackwater fever.[33] Mundy then worked as an elephant hunter, collecting and selling ivory.[34] His later novel, The Ivory Trail, was inspired largely by his own experiences at this time.[35] In later years he alleged that he met Frederick Selous at this juncture, although Mundy's biographer has pointed out that Selous was not in East Africa at this time.[36]
Mundy secured employment as the
Unemployed, he moved to
United States and early literary career: 1909–15
"Why did I start writing? The price of pork and beans made it necessary. I just got hungry enough, which is always a good thing for beginners. I was in New York and I knew Jeff Hanley, a red haired reporter on a paper there. I would pound out stuff on the typewriter and Jeff would come home, look my stuff over, say it was rotten, which it was, and make me go ahead doing more of it. Finally, under the stint of his irony I wrote a story and sold it to Frank Munsey."
— Talbot Mundy.[48]
Arriving in
In 1910, he ran into Jeff Hanley, a reporter who had covered his mugging incident; Hanley was impressed by Mundy's tales of India and Africa, and lent him a typewriter, suggesting that he write some of his stories down for potential publication.[53] Mundy did so, and published his first short story, "A Transaction in Diamonds", in the February 1911 issue of Frank Munsey's magazine, The Scrap Book.[53] His second publication was a non-fiction article, "Pig-sticking in India", which appeared in the April issue of a new pulp magazine, Adventure, which specialised in adventure fiction.[48] Although he and Adventure's editor Arthur Sullivant Hoffman did not initially like each other,[54] Mundy continued writing for the magazine, as well as for The Scrap Book, Argosy, and Cavalier.[55] In 1912, Mundy published sixteen short stories and four articles in Adventure, seven of which were under the name "Walter Galt".[56] Biographer Brian Taves suggested that these early short stories are notable "not so much for themselves as for how much they diverged from his later oeuvre", for instance dealing with subjects like boxing that are absent from his later work.[57] In 1912, Adventure had also established The Adventurer's Club, of which Mundy became a chartered member.[58]
Mundy's story "The Soul of a Regiment" attracted particular praise and critical attention. Revolving around an Egyptian regiment who are taught to play music by their English Sergeant-Instructor in the buildup to the
In June 1912, Inez sued for divorce on the grounds of Mundy's adultery; he did not challenge the accusation and the divorce was confirmed in October. As part of the divorce settlement, Mundy was forced to pay $20 a week alimony to Inez for the rest of her life.[62] Mundy moved into an apartment in Greenwich Village, which for a short time he shared with Hoffman's assistant Sinclair Lewis.[63] At this point he met the Kentucky-born portrait painter Harriette Rosemary Strafer, and after she agreed to marry him they wed in Stamford, Connecticut in August 1913.[64] Strafer had been a practitioner of a Christian new religious movement, Christian Science, since 1904, and encouraged her new husband to take an interest in the faith; studying the writings of its founder, Mary Baker Eddy, he converted to it in 1914.[65] The couple then moved to the town of Norway in Maine, where Mundy's friend Hugh Pendexter was already resident.[66] He involved himself in the activities of his new home, becoming chairman of the local agricultural committee and joining the Norway Committee on Public Safety.[67] Following the outbreak of World War I, in which Britain went to war against Germany, Mundy sought to attain U.S. citizenship; applying in November 1914, his request was approved in March 1917.[68]
In Norway, Mundy authored his first novel, For the Peace of India, which was set during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. It was serialised in Adventure under the altered title of Rung Ho! before being published by Charles Scribner in the U.S., and Cassells in the U.K. Critically well received, the book sold well.[69] In August 1914, Adventure published "The Sword of Iskander", the first of Mundy's eight novelettes revolving around the character of Dick Anthony of Arran, a Scotsman battling the Russians in Iran, which ran until March 1915.[70] It was in his January 1914 short story "A Soldier and a Gentleman" that he introduced the character of Yasmini, a young Hindu woman who would reappear in many of his later stories.[71] He then began work on a second novel, The Winds of the World, which told the story of a Sikh officer, Risaldar-Major Ranjoor Singh, who sets out to expose a German spy who is attempting to foment an uprising in British India; during the course of the story he introduced Yasmini as a character. Serialised in Adventure from July to September 1915, it was then published in Britain by Cassell; when Scribner declined to publish it, Mundy acquired a literary agent, Paul Reynolds.[72] Upon publication, it received good reviews.[73]
King of the Khyber Rifles: 1916–18
"I remember sitting in the dark and seeing the throat of the Khyber Pass at sunset - gloomy, ominous, mysterious, lonely, haunted by the ghosts of murdered men and by the prowling outlaws who live by the rifle and shun the daylight. As if the word were almost spoken in my ear I heard "Death roosts in the Khyber while he preens his wings." It seemed like a good line, so I made a note of it."
— Talbot Mundy, on how he started King of the Khyber Rifles.[74]
Mundy authored comparatively few short stories in 1916 as he focused on his third novel,
In 1917 only two of Mundy's short stories appeared in Adventure; the first was a reprint of "The Soul of a Regiment", while the second was a sequel, "The Damned Old Nigger"; in a 1918 readership survey, these were rated as the first and third most popular stories in Adventure, respectively.
In autumn 1918, Mundy and his wife moved to
Later life
Christian Science and Palestine: 1918–20
In December 1918, Mundy and his wife had visited
Spending time at the Christian Science White Mountains Camp in Tamworth, New Hampshire, it was there that he wrote The Eye of Zeitun; it included the four protagonists who had appeared in The Ivory Trail experiencing a new adventure in Armenia, and reflected Turkish persecution of the Armenian people.[88] It was serialised in Romance from February to March 1920 before being published by Bobbs-Merrill in March under the altered title of The Eyes of Zeitoon.[89] The book received mixed reviews and did not sell well.[90] Although pleased with the work of his agent Paul Reynolds, he switched to Howard Wheeler, with whom he felt more comfortable.[91]
In December 1919, Talbot decided to travel to Palestine, to aid the Society in establishing the
Creating Jimgrim: 1920–22
Mundy returned to New York City in August, there informing Rosemary that he wanted a divorce, which she refused.
It was also on Staten Island that he began drawing upon his experiences of Palestine for a series of novelettes set in the region that featured a new protagonist, James Schuyler Grim, or "Jimgrim". As created by Mundy, Jimgrim was an American who had been recruited by the British intelligence services because of his in-depth knowledge of Arab life.[103] Mundy claimed that Jimgrim was based on a real individual, whose identity he refused to reveal, while later biographer Brian Taves has suggested that the character was heavily influenced by T. E. Lawrence.[104] The first of these Jimgrim stories, "The Adventure of El-Kerak", appeared in Adventure in November 1921; the second, "Under the Dome of the Rock", appeared in December, while the third, "The 'Iblis' at Ludd", appeared in January 1922.[105] In August 1922, Mundy published "A Secret Society", in which he took Jimgrim out of Palestine and sent him to Egypt.[106] This series of novelettes promoted the cause of Arab independence from British imperialism and presented an idealised image of the prominent Arab leader Faisal I of Iraq.[107] These early Jimgrim stories were an immediate success for Adventure,[108] however Bobbs-Merrill were nevertheless not keen on them and urged Mundy to write something else.[109] The company had repeatedly lent money to Mundy, who was now heavily in debt to them.[110]
In October 1921, Mundy left New York and settled in
In November 1922, Adventure published Mundy's The Gray Mahatma, which would later be republished under the title of Caves of Terror.[115] Taves described Caves of Terror as "a landmark in Mundy's career", being "one of [his] most unusual and extraordinary novels".[116] The work included characters such as King and Yasmini who had been a part of Mundy's early oeuvre, as well as more recently developed characters like Jeff Ramsden from his Jimgrim series.[115]
It revealed Mundy's growing interest in Asian religion and also introduced a number of fantasy elements not present in his earlier work.
In 1922, Mundy and Ames moved to
Embracing Theosophy: 1922–27
In 1922, Mundy resigned from the Mother Church of Christian Science.
In 1923, Mundy became part of Tingley's cabinet, a position normally reserved for Theosophical veterans; he remained an active member of the cabinet until after Tingley's death in 1929.[126] Tingley invited him to contribute to The Theosophical Path, with his first article in this magazine, devoted to his time in Jerusalem, appearing in the February 1923 issue.[127] He would be a regular contributor to the magazine through 1924 and 1925, and would continue to do so with less frequency until 1929.[128] He also wrote a preface for Tingley's 1925 book The Wine of Life.[129] In June 1924, Mundy and Sally relocated to Mérida, Yucatan in Mexico for six weeks. Under Mexican law, this residence allowed Mundy to secure a divorce from his third wife, which he did in July, marrying Ames the following day.[130] Returning to San Diego, Mundy and Ames purchased a house near to Lomaland for $25,000 dollars in late 1924. The house — which required much renovation — was named "Tilgaun" by the couple, who lived there with her son Dick.[131]
At the recommendation of director Fred Niblo, whom Mundy had known in Africa, in early 1923 the producer Thomas H. Ince hired Mundy as a screenwriter. Mundy's first assignment for Ince was to write a novelization of the upcoming film, Her Reputation; the book was published by Bobbs-Merrill, and in England by Hutchinson under the title The Bubble Reputation.[132] Mundy later expressed disdain for the novel,[133] with his biographer Peter Berresford Ellis describing it as "the worst book that Talbot ever wrote".[134] For Ince, Mundy also produced a novelisation of a Western film, When Trails Were New, which dealt with the interactions between Native Americans and European settlers in the Wisconsin woodlands of 1832.[135] He later criticised the novel, with Taves describing it as "unquestionably one of Mundy's worst stories".[136] Mundy continued to write his own stories; in December 1922, Adventure published Mundy's Benefit of Doubt, which was followed by a sequel, Treason, in January 1923. These stories involved the character of Athelstan King, and were set in the context of the Malabar rebellion which had taken place in Malabar in 1921.[137] In December 1923, Adventure published Mundy's next Jimgrim story, Mohammed's Tooth, which would later be republished as The Hundred Days.[138]
Mundy followed this with Om: The Secret of Ahbor Valley, which was serialised in Adventure from October to November 1924, before publication by Bobbs-Merrill.[139] The characters were based upon individuals that he knew at Lomaland,[140] and the story expounded Theosophical ideas regarding the Masters and the existence of a universal "Ancient Wisdom". Adventure included a disclaimer at the start of the story stating that they did not endorse the esoteric movement.[141] Ellis described the work as Mundy's "most significant novel",[142] and his "literary masterpiece",[143] while for Taves, it was "his most distinctly literary book, surpassing earlier novels by exhibiting a maturing skill in choice of language, plot structure, theme, depth of character."[144] Mundy received hundreds of letters praising the work, and it also received good critical reviews from press.[145] It proved popular among Theosophists, with Tingley asking Mundy if he would adapt it for one of her theaters.[146] The British edition underwent six reprints in quick succession, while Swedish and German translations were soon commissioned for publication.[147] At the prompting of several letters, Mundy began work on a sequel, Ramsden, which appeared in Adventure in June 1926 before being published by Bobbs-Merrill under the title of The Devils Guard.[148] Upon publication it received good reviews.[149] A third instalment in the trilogy, The Red Flame of Erinpura, appeared in Adventure in 1927.[150] Taves later noted that these three works reflected Theosophy's "most direct influence upon Mundy's writing",[151] adding that in looking to Asia not only "for exoticism, but for wisdom and an alternative mode of living superior to Western habits", they "reinvigorated and revitalized fantasy-adventure literature".[152]
Mundy then moved towards historical fiction.[153] His next main project was the "Tros Saga", a series of six novel-length stories which appeared in Adventure over the course of 1925. Set in Europe during the first century BCE, the eponymous Tros was a
Turning his attention to new business ventures, he joined a syndicate, the Sindicato de Desarrollo Liafail, who were planning on drilling for oil in
Final years: 1928–40
After the failings of the Mexican oil expedition, Mundy left for New York City in June 1928.[164] He officially separated from Ames the following month, leaving his Tilgaun home to her.[164] In the city he embarked on a relationship with Theda Conkey Webber—a woman he had met in the autumn of 1927—and she shortly after legally changed her name to Dawn Allen.[165] In New York, Mundy had resumed his friendship with Natacha Rambova, whom he had first met at Point Loma.[166] Through her he was introduced to the spirit medium George Wehner, who helped develop Mundy's interest in Spiritualism. Mundy then wrote an introduction to Wehner's autobiography, A Curious Life, reflecting his own growing interest in Spiritualism.[167] Both Rambova and Mundy and Dawn moved into the Master Apartments building, which rented its rooms to a large number of artists and writers.[168] Mundy became involved in Nicholas Roerich's museum, which was located in the building, and travelled to London in order to convince the authorities to permit Roerich's expedition to India and in to the Himalayas; they had initially been hesitant that Roerich—who was Russian by birth—may have been an intelligence agent for the Soviet Union.[169]
In 1928, Mundy took on Brandt and Brandt as his new literary agents, becoming a close friend of co-owner Carl Brandt.
Directed by
The changing nature of the market meant that Mundy had to write an increasing number of short stories in the final decade of his life, something that he was not happy about.
Mundy created a series of stories focusing on the character of Ben Quorn, the first instalments of which appeared in Adventure over the course of late 1928 and early 1929, the latter in Argosy.[180] One of these, The Gunga Sahib, was set in the (fictional) Indian state of Narada.[181] His final Quorn story was The Elephant Sahib for Argosy.[182] Mundy produced a series of short stories, novelettes, and novels about the Criminal Investigation Division of India, most of which featured either Larry O'Hara or Chullunder Ghose as their protagonist.[183] In March 1932 he published Chullunder Ghose the Guileless in Adventure.[184] In November 1932, Century published Mundy's novel C.I.D.. Revolving around the character of Ghose, it featured an appearance of the Thuggee group. Unusually, it was only serialised after book publication, in Adventure during March and April 1933.[185] Ghose's final appearance was in The Elephant Waits, published in Short Stories in February 1937.[186] Mundy later rewrote The Elephant Waits as the novelette The Night the Clocks Stopped, in which Ghose was removed altogether.[176]
From October to December 1929 Adventure serialised Mundy's The Invisible Guns of Kabul, which was then published in book form as Cock O' the North. The story had originally been commissioned for the
At the Master Apartments, Mundy had written Black Light, and while he was unable to get it serialised, it was published by both Bobbs-Merril and Hutchinson in October 1930, to mixed reviews.[190] The novel was set in India, and revolved around a man living under the domination of his mother.[191] Taves referred to it as "one of Mundy's deepest and most rewarding novels".[192] It was the last of Mundy's novels that the company produced as he left them shortly after; the company were upset, having felt that they had been badly treated.[193] In the following year, Mundy focused on magazine work, producing King of the World, which was serialised in Adventure from November 1930 to February 1931; it was later published in book form as Jimgrim.[194] The story moved towards science fiction, and entailed Jimgrim battling an antagonist named Dorje, who has discovered the scientific secrets of Atlantis and is using them in an attempt to conquer the world.[195] His novel White Tigers, which revolved around a big game hunter and a filmmaker, was serialised in Adventure in August 1932.[176] Another novel was Full Moon, which told the story of a secret police officer investigating the disappearance of a brigadier in India. Serialised in The American Weekly from October 1934 to January 1935, it was described by Taves as "perhaps the most intensely mythic and symbolic of all Mundy's work".[196]
Mundy had also revived his Tros stories, producing four novelettes featuring the character which were published in Adventure from March to October 1935: "Battle Stations", "Cleopatra's Promise", "The Purple Pirate" and "Fleets of Fire", all of which were then published in a collected volume titled Purple Pirate.[197] Mundy returned to the setting of Tibet for two of his final novels, The Thunder Dragon Gate and its sequel, Old Ugly Face, which featured the adventures of the American Tom Grange who combatted attempts by the Russian, Japanese, and German governments to seize control of the Himalayan kingdom. The Thunder Dragon Gate was serialised in The American Weekly from January to March 1937 before publication by Appleton-Century and Hutchinson, with Old Ugly Face being serialised in Maclean's between April and May 1938 before a 1940 publication by Hutchinson.[198] Another of Mundy's final novels was East and West, a melodrama set in India that Mundy designed with cinematic adaptation in mind.[199]
In 1929 he proceeded on a visit to Europe with Dawn, spending time in London, Paris, and Rome before returning to New York.[200] Mundy and Dawn proceeded to Mexico via Cuba, settling in
Amid the economic problems of the Great Depression, Mundy began seeking out alternative forms of income to supplement his writing, beginning to give occasional lectures.[208] He also began regularly writing scripts for the radio show Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, producing around seven hundred scripts in all; these brought in a regular income until his death.[209] At certain points he introduced Theosophical ideas into the radio serial,[210] although nevertheless felt that by producing such "grossly commercial" material he had prostituted himself.[210]
In the summer of 1933 they had arrived back in the U.S., and in autumn moved into a cottage near to Osprey, Florida, where their friend Rose Wilder Lane came to stay.[211] In September 1934 they returned to the Northeast, settling into Dawn's parental home in South Manchester, Connecticut, where they remained until 1938.[212] In 1939 Mundy and his wife moved to
Personal life
Mundy was married five times during his life.
Mundy was fascinated by mysticism, and explored various religions throughout his life. After a brief involvement in Christian Science, he joined the Theosophical movement and also became very interested in Buddhism.[228] Taves stated that through his literature, Mundy was "engaged in a lifelong discourse on philosophy and religion", including Eastern ideas on subjects like karma and reincarnation which would later be popularised by the New Age Movement.[229]
"[Mundy's] style is simultaneously breezy and pungent, full of epigrams and laden (but never leaden) with meaning. Attention to timing, tone, feel, mood, and atmosphere, including the olfactory senses, contribute enormously to all Mundy's stories, whatever the region ... He was able to describe locales and foreign beliefs with a convincing touch of authenticity, combining knowledge from other books, popular legends, and his own travel writings and friendships with a vivid imagination, leaving the reader unable to discern what was fact and what was fiction."
— Biographer Brian Taves.[230]
Mundy also had strong political views, expressing contempt for the British establishment and promoting an egalitarian ethos, although not so far as to become a socialist.[231] He had been a supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal although in the final years of his life became more politically conservative.[231] The key political issue that he confronted in his work was colonialism, and he opposed imperialism regardless of the country committing it; his work contains negative portrayals of imperialistic activity by both contemporary nation-states like Britain, Russia, and Japan, as well as by the ancient Roman Empire.[232] In keeping with his critical attitude toward the British Empire, Mundy expressed support for Indian independence.[233] Ellis claimed that unlike many of his contemporaries, Mundy's work has not been accused of adopting a
Mundy believed in the equality of men and women.[236] Biographer Brian Taves felt that Mundy exhibited feminist sympathies in his work, suggesting that Yasmini, the strong, independent Hindu character that he developed in 1914, was clear evidence of this.[237] He further added that throughout the series, female characters are frequently "the leading players in his stories, ambitious, likeable, out-thinking and dominating men,"[236] with these female depictions typically being "believable [and] multi-dimensional".[238]
Reception and legacy
Over the course of his career, Mundy produced 47 novels, 130 novelettes and short stories, and 23 articles, as well as one non-fiction book.[239] Mundy biographer Peter Berresford Ellis described him as "one of the bestselling writers of adventure-fiction of his day",[240] while Taves characterised him as "the most influential and enduring, if not the best-selling, writer of Eastern adventure of his day".[241] Mundy was best known for King of the Khyber Rifles although his most critically acclaimed book was Om, and he personally considered Old Ugly Face to be his magnum opus.[242] His work has been translated into a variety of European and Asian languages.[229]
During his lifetime, Mundy's work was often compared with that of H. Rider Haggard and Rudyard Kipling, both of whose careers overshadowed his own.[243] This was a comparison that Mundy himself disliked.[238] Taves noted that while Kipling's work is typically seen as the model for colonial literature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Talbot offers "a significant counter-example", for he was writing "for the same readers and within a similar framework, [but] he was not only overtly anti-colonial but also championed Eastern philosophy and culture."[229] Taves expressed the view that Mundy's work was "free from prejudice" even though the latter did "occasionally indulge in stereotyped remarks" within his stories.[244] Taves believed that the "closest parallel" to Mundy was Joseph Conrad because both included philosophical concerns within their adventure fiction, however he added that Conrad's "bleaker currents of literary modernism" contrasted with Mundy's "hopeful conclusions".[245]
Mundy's work witnessed a posthumous growth of fan interest,[246] with Taves describing this as a "devoted but necessarily limited following".[247] In the early 1950s, 20th Century Fox worked on a further adaptation of King of the Khyber Rifles, directed by Henry King.[248] In 1955, Bradford M. Day compiled the first bibliography of his work, later releasing a revised version in 1978.[246] In 1958–59, a number of Mundy's books were re-released by Gnome Press, while in 1967–71 Avon brought out an array of mass-market paperbacks.[246] In 1983, Donald M. Grant published an edited collection of Mundy's work, Talbot Mundy, Messenger of Destiny, which also featured a bibliography and essays from two fantasy authors, Darrel Crombie and Fritz Leiber.[249] That same year, Grant published Ellis' biography of Mundy, which was based on the Bobbs-Merrill correspondence held at Indiana University.[249] Also in 1983, the writer-director Philip Kaufman and the producer Steve Roth announced plans for an adaptation of some of Mundy's novels, to be called Jimgrim vs. the Nine Unknown. The project was shelved after the financers, Tri-Star, pulled out following the commercial failure of Kaufman's The Right Stuff.[250] In 1995, Mark Jaqua assembled Mundy's articles on Theosophy into a single volume, The Lama's Law.[210] In 1998, the first website devoted to Mundy was established; it had been created by R. T. Gaut, who ran it until his death.[250]
Mundy's work has been very influential on later writers. Those who have cited him as an influence on their own work include
Bibliography
A bibliography of Mundy's published books was included by Ellis in his biography.[254]
Title | Series | Serialisation | First collected publications |
---|---|---|---|
Rung Ho! (For the Peace of India) |
– | Adventure (February 1914) | Charles Scribner's Sons (New York, 1914); Cassell & Co. (London, 1914) |
The Winds of the World | Ranjoor Singh | Adventure (July 1915) | Cassell & Co. (London, 1916); Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1917) |
King of the Khyber Rifles | Athelstan King | Everybody's (May 1916) | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1916); Constable & Co. (London, 1917) |
Hira Singh's Tale (Hira Singh) |
Ranjoor Singh | Adventure (October 1917) | Cassell & Co. (London, 1918); Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1918) |
The Ivory Trail (On the Trail of Tippoo Tib) |
– | Adventure (May 1919) | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1919); Constable & Co. (London, 1919) |
The Eye of Zeitoon (The Eye of Zeitun) |
– | Romance (February 1920) | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1920); Hutchinson (London, 1920) |
Told in the East | Three short stories | Adventure (March and July 1913; June 1915) | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1920) |
Guns of the Gods | Yasmini | Adventure (March 1921) | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1921); Hutchinson (London, 1921) |
Her Reputation (The Bubble Reputation) |
– | – | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1923); Hutchinson (London, 1923) |
The Nine Unknown | – | Adventure (March 1923) | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1924); Hutchinson (London, 1924) |
Om: The Secret of Ahbor Valley | Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (October 1924) | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1924); Hutchinson (London, 1925) |
The Caves of Terror (The Gray Mahatma) |
Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (November 1922) | Garden City Publishing Co. (New York, 1924); Hutchinson (London, 1934) |
The Soul of a Regiment | - | Adventure (February 1912) | Alex Dulfer (Sam Francisco, 1924) |
The Devil's Guard (Ramsden) |
Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (June 1926) | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1926); Hutchinson (London, 1926) |
Queen Cleopatra | Tros | – | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1929); Hutchinson (London, 1929) |
Cock O' the North (The Invisible Guns of Kabul; Gup Bahadur) |
– | Adventure (October, 1929) | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1929); Hutchinson (London, 1929) |
The Hundred Days (Muhammad's Tooth) |
Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (December 1923) | Hutchinson (London, 1930); Century (New York, 1930) |
The Marriage of Meldrum Strange | Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (April 1922) | Hutchinson (London, 1930); Century (New York, 1931) |
The Woman Ayisha | Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (October 1927) | Hutchinson (London, 1930); Century (New York, 1931) |
Black Light | – | – | Bobbs-Merrill (Indianapolis, 1930); Hutchinson (London, 1930) |
W.H.: A Portion of the Record of Sir William Halfax (The Queen's Warrant; Ho for London Town!) |
– | Argosy (February 1929) | Hutchinson (London, 1931); Royal Books (New York, 1953) |
Jimgrim (King of the World; Jimgrim Sahib) |
Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (November 1930) | Century (New York, 1931); Hutchinson (London, 1931) |
Jungle Jest | Short stories, Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (December 1922, January 1923; August 1923) | Hutchinson (London, 1931); Century (New York, 1932) |
The Lost Trooper | Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (May 1922) | Hutchinson (London, 1931) |
When Trails Were New | – | Argosy (October 1928) | Hutchinson (London, 1932) |
C.I.D. | Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (November 1933) | Hutchinson (London, 1932); Century (New York, 1933) |
The Gunga Sahib | Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (November 1928) | Hutchinson (London, 1933); Appleton-Century (New York, 1934) |
The King in Check (Affair in Araby) | Adventure (July 1922) | Hutchinson (London, 1933); Appleton-Century (New York, 1934) | |
The Mystery of Khufu's Tomb | Adventure (October 1922) | Hutchinson (London, 1933); Appleton-Century (New York, 1935) | |
Jimgrim and Allah's Peace | Short stories; Jimgrim/Ramsden | Adventure (November 1921; December 1921) | Hutchinson (London, 1933); Appleton-Century (New York, 1936) |
The Red Flame of Erinpura | Adventure (January 1927) | Hutchinson (London, 1934) | |
Caesar Dies (The Falling Star) | Adventure (October, 1926) | Hutchinson (London, 1934); Centaur Books (New York, 1973) | |
Tros of Samothrace | Short stories; Tros | Adventure (February 1925; April 1925; June 1925; August 1925; October 1925; December 1925; February 1926) | Hutchinson (London, 1934); Appleton-Century (New York, 1934) |
Full Moon (There Was a Door) | American Weekly (October 1934) | Appleton-Century (New York, 1935); Hutchinson (London, 1935) |
Jimgrim/Ramsden
- Hira Singh (1918)
- The Seventeen Thieves of El-Kalil (1935)
- The Lion of Petra (1932)
- The Red Flame of Erinpura (1934)
- Jimgrim, Moses, and Mrs. Aintree (first book publication of 1922 magazine story, 2008)
Tros
- Tros of Samothrace (1925)
- Queen Cleopatra (1929)
- Purple Pirate (1935)
Lobsang Pun
- The Thunder Dragon Gate (1937)
- Old Ugly Face (1940)
Non-series
- All Four Winds: Four Novels of India (omnibus, 1932)
- Full Moon (variant title, There Was a Door, 1935)
- Romances of India (omnibus, 1936)
- East and West (variant title Diamonds See in the Dark, 1935)
- The Valiant View (Short Stories, 1939)
- Winds from the East: A Talbot Mundy Reader (Fiction, Poems and Non-Fiction, 2006)
- A Transaction in Diamonds: Talbot Mundy in the Pulps, 1911 (The Talbot Mundy Library, volume 1)
- The Soul of a Regiment (The Talbot Mundy Library, volume 2, NYP)
- In a Righteous Cause: Talbot Mundy in Adventure, 1913 (The Talbot Mundy Library, volume 3)
- The Letter of His Orders—Three Short Novels from Adventure, 1913 (The Talbot Mundy Library, volume 4)
- Love and War–The Battles of Billy Blain, 1912-16 (The Talbot Mundy Library, volume 5, NYP)
- The Sword of Iskandar- The Adventures of Dick Anthony of Arran (The Talbot Mundy Library, volume 6, NYP)
Yasmini of India
- A Soldier and a Gentleman reprinted in A Soldier and a Gentleman, Talbot Mundy in Adventure 1914-1919 (The Talbot Mundy Library, volume 7), Adventure, January 1915
- The Winds of the World, Adventure magazine, July–September 1915
- King of the Khyber Rifles, Everybody's Magazine, May 1916
- Guns of the Gods, Adventure magazine, March 3-May 3, 1921
- Caves of Terror (The Gray Mahatma), Adventure magazine, Nov 10, 1922 [Grimjim series]
See also
References
Footnotes
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 23; Taves 2006, p. 5.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 23.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 25–26.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 25–26; Taves 2006, p. 5.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 26.
- ^ a b Ellis 1984, p. 27.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 30–31; Taves 2006, p. 6.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 32.
- ^ a b Ellis 1984, p. 33.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 34.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 34–35; Taves 2006, p. 6.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 35; Taves 2006, p. 7.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 7.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 36.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 36; Taves 2006, p. 7.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 37; Taves 2006, p. 7.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 38; Taves 2006, p. 7.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 38–40.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 40–41.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 41; Taves 2006, p. 7.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 41–43; Taves 2006, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 8.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 43.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 44; Taves 2006, p. 9.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 45; Taves 2006, p. 9.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 46; Taves 2006, p. 9.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 9.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 49.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 49–50; Taves 2006, p. 11.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 50.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 50–51; Taves 2006, p. 10.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 52–53; Taves 2006, p. 10.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 53–54.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 55–56.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 56–57; Taves 2006, p. 12.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 61–62; Taves 2006, p. 13.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 61, 66; Taves 2006, pp. 13–14.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 62–65; Taves 2006, p. 14.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 66.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 67; Taves 2006, p. 14.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 69.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 69–70; Taves 2006, p. 14.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 70; Taves 2006, p. 14.
- ^ a b Ellis 1984, p. 74.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 71–73; Taves 2006, pp. 14–15.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 73; Taves 2006, p. 17.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 73.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 16.
- ^ a b Ellis 1984, p. 74; Taves 2006, p. 17.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 76; Taves 2006, p. 47.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 77; Taves 2006, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 18.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 22.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 21.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 77–78; Taves 2006, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 78–80; Taves 2006, p. 16.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 80.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 82–84; Taves 2006, p. 43.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 44.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 83–84; Taves 2006, p. 47.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 92.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 85–86, 92.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 84–85; Taves 2006, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 85; Taves 2006, p. 27.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 87–88; Taves 2006, p. 29.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 87; Taves 2006, pp. 31, 33.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 95; Taves 2006, p. 33.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 34.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 88–89; Taves 2006, pp. 34–38.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 89.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 89–92; Taves 2006, pp. 35, 38, 39.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 93.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 93, 95–96; Taves 2006, pp. 49–51.
- ^ a b Ellis 1984, p. 97.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 98.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 98–99; Taves 2006, pp. 54–55.
- ^ a b Ellis 1984, p. 101.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 103–104; Taves 2006, p. 57.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 99.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 102; Taves 2006, p. 61.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 102.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 105–106; Taves 2006, pp. 57–58.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 107–108; Taves 2006, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 117.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 106.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 109; Taves 2006, pp. 61–62, 65.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 110–111; Taves 2006, p. 64.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 112.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 104–105, 114–115; Taves 2006, pp. 60, 65.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 120–121.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 122–123; Taves 2006, pp. 69–71.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 72, 84.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 124; Taves 2006, p. 72.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 124; Taves 2006, pp. 65–66, 74.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 124; Taves 2006, p. 74.
- ^ a b Ellis 1984, p. 125.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 77–78.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 78.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 127; Taves 2006, p. 79.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 83.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 82.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 87.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 132–133.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 134.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 131–133; Taves 2006, p. 89.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 131–133, 136–137; Taves 2006, pp. 109–111.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 89.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 101.
- ^ a b c d Taves 2006, p. 90.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 90, 91.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 91–92.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 94.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 135; Taves 2006, pp. 94–95.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 95.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 93.
- ^ a b c Taves 2006, p. 113.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 139; Taves 2006, p. 115.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 115.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 116, 119–120.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 116–117.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 140; Taves 2006, p. 118.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 140–41.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 144; Taves 2006, p. 136.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 152; Taves 2006, p. 132.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 157; Taves 2006, pp. 132–133.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 102–104; Taves 2011, pp. 215–218.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 104.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 135.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 106–108.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 107.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 99.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 96–97.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 144, 147–148; Taves 2006, p. 124.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 145.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 153–154; Taves 2006, p. 124.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 144.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 156.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 121.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 154; Taves 2006, p. 125.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 155.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 154–155.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 162–164; Taves 2006, p. 126.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 173; Taves 2006, p. 130.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 130.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 131.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 124.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 132.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 159–160; Taves 2006, p. 138.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 139.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 159–160; Taves 2006, p. 140.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 142.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 173–174; Taves 2006, p. 43.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 185; Taves 2006, pp. 147–148.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 177; Taves 2006, pp. 144–147.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 143–144.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 169–171; Taves 2006, pp. 151–152.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 178; Taves 2006, pp. 153–154.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 154.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 155–157.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 168.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 182; Taves 2006, pp. 168–169.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 172.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 174–175.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 182.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 182–183.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 185.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 182.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 181–182, 187–188; Taves 2006, pp. 162–164.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 181–182; Taves 2006, p. 162.
- ^ a b c Taves 2006, p. 196.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 219.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 223.
- ^ a b c Taves 2006, p. 198.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 158, 193–194.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 193.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 194; Taves 2006, pp. 193–194.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 189.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 191.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 201; Taves 2006, pp. 191–193.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 195.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 186–187; Taves 2006, p. 159.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 158–159.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 158.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 190–193; Taves 2006, p. 176.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 178–180.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 180.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 190–193.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 194; Taves 2006, pp. 185–186.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 185–186.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 202–204.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 208.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 212–216.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 224–225.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 189; Taves 2006, p. 171.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 198–199; Taves 2006, p. 188.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 202–203; Taves 2006, pp. 199–200.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 203; Taves 2006, pp. 200, 241–242.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 203–204; Taves 2006, p. 200.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 204.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 204–205; Taves 2006, pp. 201–202.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 206.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 209.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 209–210; Taves 2006, pp. 225–227.
- ^ a b c Taves 2006, p. 235.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 204–205.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 207.
- ^ a b Ellis 1984, p. 216; Taves 2006, p. 236.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 218; Taves 2006, p. 237.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 238–239.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 223.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 221.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 114–225; Taves 2006, p. 239.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 226; Taves 2006, p. 239.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 225–226; Taves 2006, p. 240.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 13.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 200–201.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 134.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 144.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 26.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 27.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 226.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 17–18.
- ^ a b c Taves 2006, p. 1.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 255.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 256.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 256–257.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 17.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 56.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 42.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 24.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 254.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 240.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 11.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 258.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 13–15.
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 15–16.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 67.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 2.
- ^ a b c Taves 2006, p. 250.
- ^ Taves 2006, p. 259.
- ^ Taves 2006, pp. 244–249.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 251.
- ^ a b Taves 2006, p. 252.
- ^ Ellis 1984, p. 19.
- ^ Partners in wonder: women and the birth of science fiction, 1926–1965 by Eric Leif Davin. Lexington Books, 2006 (pg. 156).
- ^ California Utopia: Point Loma,1897–1942 by Emmett A. Greenwalt. Point Loma Publications, 1978 (pg. 115)
- ^ Ellis 1984, pp. 275–279.
Sources
- Ellis, Peter Berresford (1984). The Last Adventurer: The Life of Talbot Mundy. West Kingston: Donald M. Grant. ISBN 0-937986-70-4.
- Taves, Brian (1985). "Philosophy Into Popular Fiction: Talbot Mundy and The Theosophical Society". Southern California Quarterly. 67 (2). University of California Press: 153–186. JSTOR 41171147.
- Taves, Brian (2006). Talbot Mundy, Philosopher of Adventure: A Critical Biography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company. ISBN 0-7864-2234-3.
- Taves, Brian (2011). Thomas H. Ince, Hollywood's Independent Pioneer. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-3422-2.
Further reading
- Brian Taves, Talbot Mundy, Philosopher of Adventure: A Critical Biography (McFarland, 2005)
- Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc., 1984)
- Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc., 1983)
- Brian Taves (editor) Talbot Mundy, Winds From the East (Ariel Press, 2006) (an anthology of Mundy short stories and articles)
- Bleiler, Everett F. (1948). The Checklist of Fantastic Literature. Chicago: Shasta Publishers. pp. 205–206.
- ISBN 0-88184-708-9.
- ISBN 0-911682-22-8.
External links
- Dustfall
- Works by Talbot Mundy at Project Gutenberg
- Works by Talbot Mundy at Faded Page (Canada)
- Works by or about Talbot Mundy at Internet Archive
- Works by Talbot Mundy at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Works by Talbot Mundy at Project Gutenberg Australia
- Materials Toward a Bibliography of the Works of Talbot Mundy at Project Gutenberg
- Talbot Mundy – Master of Mystical Adventure
- Entry at the Encyclopedia of Science fiction
- Talbot Mundy at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Talbot Mundy at Library of Congress, with 47 library catalogue records