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As was, and is, customary, an author was expected to do the publicity round of interviews as a 'puff' for his forthcoming book, and as already mentioned under 'Background', on the main page, on 20 September HW gave an interview to a Guardian reporter, 'ready for Scandaroon publishing 20 October 1972', he noted in his diary. Margery Boone, his cousin (Polly Pickering of the Chronicle) was present, but the reporter did not grasp her significance and I suspect HW was quietly very amused. And then on 18 October, HW notes being sent copies of both the Guardian item, 'quite thoroughly written'; and Smith's Trade News, 'witty & factual'.
So we begin this section with these two items, although they are more of a review of HW's whole career rather than a review of The Scandaroon.
Guardian, 14 October 1972:
Smith's Trade News, 14 October 1972 (whole page, and then sectioned; note that the reference to 'Burby' should of course be 'Derby' – the interviewer evidently misheard HW; and the mispelling of 'Phillip' – clearly she was not a reader of the Chronicle!):
An 'hors d'oeuvre' (from four years previously!):
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Considerable pre-publication publicity was given to the book. Macdonald made it their leading autumn fiction title, advertising it extensively in the two leading book-trade magazines, and going to the additional expense of placing it on the front cover of The Bookseller on 5 August 1972:
The Bookseller, 12 August 1972:
Smith's Trade News, 7 October 1972, and The Bookseller, 21 October 1972:
The big poster is AO size and too large to scan in – nor would the scaled-down effect do justice to it. The smaller A4 card is below:
The Bookseller, 14 October 1972:
This small item found its way into the Daily Express:
It was not the only initimation that HW had grand plans for his Field, as this item in The Field shortly afterwards shows:
On publication day HW's local bookseller put this advertisement in the North Devon Journal-Herald:
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On publication The Scandaroon was well reviewed, in many local newspapers as well as the nationals.
Evening Despatch (Darlington), 6 October 1972:
Evening Chronicle (Newcastle) (Joseph McKiernan), 14 October 1972:
Oxford Mail (Bruce Campbell), 19 October 1972:
Daily Telegraph (Michael Maxwell Scott), 19 October 1972:
HW found this review disappointing, writing in his diary:
Sunday Times (Maurice Wiggin), 22 October 1972:
Western Mail (Penelope Maslin), 28 October 1972:
The Northern Echo (W.J.N.), 3 November 1972:
The Scotsman (William Foster), 4 November 1972 (a feature article very similar to some others):
Observer, 5 November 1972:
Evening Gazette (Colchester), 8 November 1972:
The Economist, 11 November 1972:
Evening Standard, 21 November 1972:
Maurice Wiggin's essay on HW, mentioned above, was first printed in The Times on 1 June 1958. 'Hermit of Ox's Cross' was reprinted in HWSJ 11, April 1985, pp 6-8.
Sutton & Cheam Advertiser, Beckenham & Penge Advertiser, Croydon Advertiser, Coulsdon & Purley Advertiser (all carried the same syndicated review: so 4 'Pidgeon' posts! Oh dear!):
The Times (Philippa Toomy), 30 November 1972 (headed 'All creatures great and small' the column covers 15 other books; HW has added his comment):
Sunday Times, 3 December 1972 (advert., on a page devoted to Christmas books):
Leicester Mercury, 7 December 1972 (shame they didn't get the name right . . . ah well!):
Eastern Daily Press (Doreen Wallace), 8 December 1972:
Daily Express, 14 December 1972 (only a photocopy of this review is in the archive):
Times Literary Supplement, 29 December 1972:
Growing Point, December 1972:
British Book News, 3 January 1973:
Methodist Recorder, 1 February 1973:
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Limited edition, Macdonald, 1972, with its stamped cover design; the scan does not quite capture either the artificial brightness of the gilt or the cheap texture and feel of the dark blue rexine binding, in a slip-case of similar material. Combined with the use of a poor paper prone to foxing, the overall effect is one of an unfortunate cheapness inappropriate to a limited edition.
The limited edition sheet and title page of HW's own copy; note the illustration, hand-coloured by the author!
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First trade edition, Macdonald, 1972, front and back covers:
The dust wrapper flaps, with HW's Introduction, are illustrated near the top of the main page. The early 1920s photograph of HW on his Norton motorcycle outside Vale House in Georgeham is wrongly attributed to his close friend of later years, Ossie Jones. HW did not know Ossie at that time. The photograph is from his own archive and would appear to have been taken on his own camera.
The book itself is unique, I think, among HW's many published works in having his owl colophon stamped on the front:
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Saturday Review Press, New York, 1973. The front of the dust wrapper is identical to the UK edition (almost – the cover illustration has been cropped slightly at the bottom, as the book is not as tall as the UK edition), while the back and two flaps are completely different. The laminate used on the cover has yellowed with age, unlike the UK edition.
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The book itself is pleasingly bound in quarter crimson cloth with tan boards, with a pigeon in flight stamped in gilt:
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