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More on The Stephen King Illustrated Companion

Posted: July 2, 2009, 09:03
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Here are some more info about the upcoming book The Stephen King Illustrated Companion by Bev Vincent that sounds very interesting:

An interactive approach to King’s greatest works, The Stephen King Illustrated Companion features a wealth of unseen memorabilia from the author’s desk and insightful text that reads between the lines to uncover King's own compelling biography. Supplemented with rare and previously unpublished ephemera from King’s archives, such as hand-edited manuscript drafts, revealing letters between King and his editor, and personal mementos from his career, this unique companion volume tangibly illuminates the writer's works and life in a way never done before.

Exploring Where Savage Things Grow...
With thousands of horrific pages published since the first lines of Carrie, Stephen King's gripping perennial fiction has earned him the rightful appelation "The Master of Modern Horror." The Stephen King Illustrated Companion takes a critical look at King's most iconic works and reads between the lines to uncover the personal influences and demons as reflected in each monster, epidemic, and depraved character. Unseen family photographs and 16 pieces of previously unpublished ephemera--such as handwritten manuscript notes, typed early drafts, lengthy journal entries, and doodles for King's college newspaper--complete this tangible tour. Packed with fascinating biographical details, literary interpretations, and personal memorabilia, The Stephen King Illustrated Companion is a must-have addition to any true fan's library.

Table of Contents
Introduction: Mr. Horror USA
Chapter 1: The Early Years
Chapter 2: Room 217—The Shining
Chapter 3: The Walkin’ Dude—The Stand
Chapter 4: Welcome to Castle Rock—The Dead Zone
Chapter 5: Sometimes Dead Is Better—Pet Sematary
Chapter 6: Pennywise Lives—It
Chapter 7: Number One Fan—Misery
Chapter 8: The Night Journey—The Green Mile
Chapter 9: Things That Go Bump—Bag of Bones
Chapter 10: The Accident
Chapter 11: More Worlds Than These—The Dark Tower series
Chapter 12: The Thing with the Endless Piebald Side—Lisey’s Story
Conclusion

From Bev himself:
The concept here is that the book is a reader's companion. Since I couldn't cover King's entire career, I picked titles that were distributed across his career and were also among the more popular books, the ones that the average reader would be sure to know. However, I also picked books that had a significant biographical context. So, each book chapter is essentially partly about where King was in his life at the time he was working on the book and partly about how that might be seen to play out in the story. Biography through literary analysis.

The photo and documents researcher went after material that ties in well with my text.

Each chapter has two, three or more sidebars, self-contained items that relate to the text, though sometimes only marginally. Barnes and Noble loves sidebars!