Howard Works bibliography

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The Essential Conan

1988

Material type

Publication date: June 1988

Introduction

The Essential Conan is a collection of Conan short stories written by Robert E. Howard. The book was published in 1998 by the Science Fiction Book Club. It collects the editions of the Conan books, edited by Karl Edward Wagner and published by Berkley Books in 1977. Most of the stories originally appeared in the magazines Weird Tales, The Phantagraph and The Howard Collector. The Wagner editions were the first to virtually reproduce Howard's original stories without any editorial changes other than typo fixes.

Notes

Based on the original text from WEIRD TALES.Omnibus edition collecting THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON, THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE, and RED NAILS.
Edited by Karl Edward Wagner
Contains original pulp illustrations from WEIRD TALES.
Includes a folded poster of the cover art.
Combines three previous Howard volumes published by SFBC. SFBC #17988 on back of dust jacket
The SFBC edition was retypeset and introduced numerous errors.

Cover artist, Ken Kelly, credited on the rear jacket flap.

Edition and production details

Edition: 1st
Format: Hardcover with dust jacket
Publication date: June 1988
Identifiers: ISBN: 1-56865-803-6
Pages: 643
Publisher / imprint: Science Fiction Book Club
Cover art: Ken Kelly
Illustrations: Hugh Rankin, Harold S. Delay, Vincent Napoli

9 linked Howard works

41 contents entries

THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON
The Hour of the Dragon • (1935) • interior artwork by Vincent Napoli artwork
"Foreword" by Karl Edward Wagner
The People of the Black Circle • (1934) • interior artwork by Hugh Rankin artwork
"The Hour of the Dragon"
Red Nails • (1935) • interior artwork by Hugh Rankin artwork
"Afterword" by Karl Edward Wagner
Red Nails • (1935) • interior artwork by Harold S. De Lay artwork
THE PEOPLE OF THE BLACK CIRCLE
[viii] • Map of the Hyborian World • (1977) • interior artwork by John Mayer artwork
"Foreword" by Karl Edward Wagner
Foreword (The Hour of the Dragon) • (1977) • essay by Karl Edward Wagner 9 · introduction
"The Devil in Iron"
The Hour of the Dragon • (1969) • poem by Robert E. Howard 17 · poem
"The People of the Black Circle"
The Hour of the Dragon • [Conan] • (1977) • novel by Robert E. Howard (variant of Conan the Conqueror 1950) 19 · novel
"A Witch Shall Be Born"
Afterword (The Hour of the Dragon) • (1977) • essay by Karl Edward Wagner 193 · essay
"Jewels of Gwahlur"
The People of the Black Circle • [Conan] • (1977) • collection by Robert E. Howard 207
"Afterword" by Karl Edward Wagner
Foreword (The People of the Black Circle) • (1977) • essay by Karl Edward Wagner 215 · introduction
RED NAILS
The Devil in Iron • [Conan] • (1934) • novelette by Robert E. Howard 223 · novelette
"Foreword" by Karl Edward Wagner
The People of the Black Circle • [Conan] • (1934) • novella by Robert E. Howard 257 · novelette
"Beyond the Black River"
A Witch Shall Be Born • [Conan] • (1934) • novelette by Robert E. Howard 335 · novelette
"Shadows in Zamboula"
Jewels of Gwahlur • [Conan] • (1935) • novelette by Robert E. Howard 379 · novelette
"Red Nails"
Afterword (The People of the Black Circle) • (1977) • essay by Karl Edward Wagner 421 · essay
"The Hyborian Age"
Red Nails • [Conan] • (1977) • collection by Robert E. Howard 427
"Afterword" by Karl Edward Wagner
Foreword (Red Nails) • (1977) • essay by Karl Edward Wagner 435 · introduction
Beyond the Black River • [Conan] • (1935) • novella by Robert E. Howard 445 · novelette
Shadows in Zamboula • [Conan] • (1935) • novelette by Robert E. Howard 445 · novelette
Red Nails • [Conan] • (1936) • novella by Robert E. Howard 533 · novelette
The Hyborian Age • [Conan] • (1938) • short fiction by Robert E. Howard 611 · story
Afterword (Red Nails) • (1977) • essay by Karl Edward Wagner 634 · essay

Contributors

Ken Kelly: Cover artist
Hugh Rankin, Harold S. Delay, Vincent Napoli: Illustrator

Additional related terms

Preserved from the former REH World tagging system; these terms have not yet been assigned as contributors, characters or subjects.

Conan Harold S. De Lay Hugh Rankin John Mayer Karl Edward Wagner Robert E. Howard Vincent Napoli