Part 73 (1/2)

The Devil in Iron

Originally appeared in Weird Tales, August 1934. No changes have been made for this edition.

The Phoenix on the Sword (first submitted draft)

420.

Howard completed three drafts of The Phoenix on the Sword before he was satisfied with it.

This third version ran 28 pages and was submitted to Weird Tales in early March 1932. A few days later, the editor, Farnsworth Wright, asked for some rewriting before accepting the tale: ”I hope you will see your way clear to touch it up and resubmit it. It is the first two chapters that do not click. The story opens rather uninterestingly, it seems to me, and the reader has difficulty in orienting himself. The first chapter ends well, and the second chapter begins superbly; but after King Conan's personality is well established, the chapter sags from too much writing. I think the very last page of the whole story might be re-written with advantage; because it seems a little weak after the stupendous events that precede it.” Howard followed Wright's suggestions to the word, rewriting only the first two chapters and the beginning of the third, totaling 13 pages, and the last two pages of his story. Since Wright had no objection to pages 14 to 26, Howard simply resent them with the new ones. The 15 rejected pages most of which have Wright's editorial markings on them were relegated to Howard's archives. The text presented in this edition is thus comprised of Howard's first thirteen rejected pages (ending with the word ”only,” page 362, line 37), followed by the Weird Tales text up to page 372, line

31. Line 32 onward are taken from Howard's draft. Weird Tales' ”Thoth-Amon” has been replaced with Howard's ”Thoth-amon” and Howard's ”AEsir” with ”aesir.” 353.4.15: no comma after ”fat”; 353.5.7: petulent; 353.10.5: unconciously; 353.14.16: petulently; 353.37.1: no comma after ”I”; 353.37.13: covenented; 354.4.1: no period after ”giant” (typed to right edge of paper); 354.8.2: fade; 354.14.5: Seneschal; 354.36.5: ”pala ce”; 354.40.13: string (typed to right edge of paper); 355.17.13: every; 356.7.1: stubborness; 356.16.7: villian;

356.18.5: no punctuation after ”him” (typed to right edge of paper); 356.32.4: your's; 357.1.6: ”an swered”; 357.19.17: procede; 357.20.14: Dont; 359.12.14: its; 360.12.2: Its; 360.30.7: vainess; 361.3.5: meaninglesness; 361.13.5: concious; 361.14.7: sylus; 372.35.8: it; 373.24.15: knee (typed to right edge of paper); 373.29.10: ”sword” followed by a period instead of a question mark.

Notes on Various Peoples of the Hyborian Age.

Text taken from Howard's original typescript, provided by Glenn Lord. No changes have been made for this edition.

The Hyborian Age

Originally appeared in The Hyborian Age, Lany Corp, 1938. The booklet's ”AEsir” has been rendered as ”aesir” throughout. 382.25.1: ThePicts; 384.26.8: impetous; 384.39.7: impetuous;

385.4.4: this; 385.26.3: Thr; 386.13.4: nothern; 386.36.3: ”inter-married” hyphenated at line- break; 388.18.3: subjuction; 389.32.7: an; 390.19.6: ”war-path” hyphenated at line break;

391.1.5: agression; 392.14.9: seem; 392.16.6: auxilaries; 393.8.4: mutined; 393.14.1: inexhaustable; 394.34.2. in; 397.13.5: ”or” not in original; 397.26.2: primitives; 398.04.1: ”pure blooded.”

421.

Unt.i.tled synopsis (A squad of Zamorian soldiers...)

Text taken from Howard's original typescript, provided by Glenn Lord. No changes have been made for this edition.

Unt.i.tled synopsis (The Scarlet Citadel)

Text taken from Howard's original typescript, provided by Glenn Lord. No changes have been made for this edition.

Unt.i.tled synopsis (Black Colossus)

Text taken from Howard's original typescript, provided by Glenn Lord. No changes have been made for this edition.

Unt.i.tled fragment (The battlefield stretched silent...)

Text taken from Howard's original typescript, provided by Glenn Lord. No changes have been made for this edition.

Unt.i.tled synopsis (The setting: The city of Shumballa...)

Text taken from Howard's original typescript, provided by Glenn Lord. No changes have been made for this edition.

Unt.i.tled fragment (Amboola awakened slowly...

Text taken from Howard's original typescript, provided by Glenn Lord. No changes have been422.