> > In a message dated 5/18/99 12:03:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> > jknight@... writes:
> >
> > << Rafael's son and step-son both died young in tragic
> >  accidents.  (If you want to know the strory, I'll be happy to fill you
> in.)


> > yes, thank you.  Since I am late on the scene, I am probably the only
one
> who doesn't know the story--


     Actually, Faith, we've not talked about this issue at all, so it will be
new information for virtually all of the list.

     Any way . . .

      Rafael Sabatini married an Englishwoman Ruth Goad Dixon in 1905.  She
was the daughter of a wealthy manufacturer from Liverpool.  They had a son
in 1909--Rafael-Angelo.  They nicknamed him Binkie.  At first I thought this
a rather silly nickname, but I've run across it a couple of other times
since, so
apparently it isn't all that uncommon.

      One of Rafael's favorite activities was fishing.  And early in 1927 he
rented "an old world country residence" on the river Wye.  I've been there.
It isn't far from Tintern Abby in beautiful green and rolling countryside.
Binkie, beloved by both his parents, it seems was a personable, handsome
young man but not brilliant nor artistic like his father.  Cramming for
school, he had taken a few days off and drove his own car to be with his
parents in western England.

       Rafael took one of his friends to the train station while Binkie and
Ruth set out on an excursion of their own.  On his way back from the
station, Rafael saw an accident, as he drew closer he saw his son laying
beside the road.  Can you imagine the awful and grusome sight--to find your
own child beside the road?  They took him back to Brockweir House, but it
was too late.  He died.  Ruth stunned by the accident never remembered any
of the details of the accident.  Nobody could tell why or how it happened.

     Rafael was grief-stricken.  In one letter he mentions that writing was
all that kept him sane.  It seems that their son was the thing that kept the
Sabatinis together, for they divorced several years later.

      In later years, Rafael re-married, a woman by the name of Christine
Dixon (she was Rafael's former sister-in-law).  They moved permanently to
western England near the border of Wales, near Hay-on-Wye, near Hereford, if
you care to look it up on a map.  Once again, beautiful, green rolling
countryside surrounded him.  Interestingly enough, his second wife had a son
by the former marriage.  And miraculously, he was much like
Binkie--handsome, outgoing, personable, quite the athlete, a great skier
like Rafael.  The son's name was Lancelot Steele Dixon, nicknamed Lanty.
Rafael was very fond of the boy.

      With World War II beginning Lanty joined the RAF.  In 1940, he had just
got his wings and he flew other Rafael and Christine's home on the Wye.
They were outside, and Lanty flew low over their house and dipped his wings
and they waved. . . .  Then something terrible happened--nobody knows
what--but Lanty perhaps lost control of the plane or it got tangled in the
spidery treetops.  Whatever, before the horrified eyes of his parents,
Lanty's plane crashed and burst into flames, and Lanty died instantly.

      To me it is hard to imagine what it must have been like to have two
scenes like that with your beloved children die before your eyes.  Even to
this day I don't wish to contemplate it overlong.

      To finish the story, Christine, a fine sculpturesss, made a wonderful
sculpture of Lanty looking like Icarus for his gravesite in Hay-on-Wye.  For
years she was haunted by visions of the crash.  Long a gardener, one day she
had the idea of planting some deep blue flowers in the shape of a plane in
her garden.  Perhaps she pretended it was the shadow of her son's plane
flying forever above her.  I don't know.  But after that, the dreams seemed
to go away and she was at peace.

      So that is the story of how Rafael lost his only son twice.

  Jesse F. Knight

You know I was thinking... (usually gets me into trouble, I know)
since there are no sites for Sabatini, maybe we should create one.
(I checked Altavista and Yahoo, and a couple of the free homepage
places.)

I say "we" because, while I am good at what I do (graphic design)
and have no problem with HTML and just about anything other
technical issue that we'd need to put such a site on the web, I
would not be able to provide content. A literary luminary I am not
(just check out that previous sentence.) Anyone want to volunteer
to help?

Failing interest in that and in case you didn't know, there is a
space on onelist where people can put links pertinent to the
group. Anyone who is a member can put stuff there. With all of
us looking for them, we could end up with quite a good collection.

--rimfire (starting "Chivalry" any minute now...be forewarned.)

> From: Faithmus@...

> Does anyone know what relationship if any, Rafael has to the tennis star
> Sabatini  (her first name has escaped me).

     As far as I know, Rafael Sabatini is not related to the female tennis
star Gabriela Sabatini.  Rafael's son and step-son both died young in tragic
accidents.  (If you want to know the strory, I'll be happy to fill you in.)

     The question was posed in one of the Sunday supplement magazines a few
years back.

     Rafael himself was an only child.

     While I have never actually seen an Italian edition of Sabatini's work,
I know his work was translated into dozens of languages.  I would be
surprised indeed if he hadn't been translated into Italian.  Couple that
with the fact that he wrote 11 or so book on Italian subjects, and I think
it is safe to say that some of his things have made it in Italian.

Jesse

Does anyone know what relationship if any, Rafael has to the tennis star
Sabatini  (her first name has escaped me).  On another list I belong to there
is an Italian woman who lives in Italy--just to show how little our author is
known--she had not heard of him--but then she wasn't familiar with the tennis
player, either--oh well.  Have Sabatini's novels been published in Italian?
Faith

I've found out a little bit more about this guy not much but a little, he
doesn't seem terribly competent. I'll post it soon.




M

>
> As a lifelong reader of Sabatini (I am now 71) I have been thrilled to
see
> the renewed interest in his work.  For many years, when I would mention
his
> name I would get blank stares.  Even mentioning the movies didn't help
since
> even Errol Flynn's name is distant history.  Great idea--this list--I am
> looking forward to the discussions.


actually as old movie stars go Errol's one of the biggest

M. Cummins

As a lifelong reader of Sabatini (I am now 71) I have been thrilled to see
the renewed interest in his work.  For many years, when I would mention his
name I would get blank stares.  Even mentioning the movies didn't help since
even Errol Flynn's name is distant history.  Great idea--this list--I am
looking forward to the discussions.
Faith Ingles

Jessica Salmonson, who is a brilliant writer and anthologist, is a fan of
historical fiction and swashbucklers.  She has a wonderful gallery of
dustwrappers from various historical novels, novels of adventure, swashbucklers
and the like.  The dustwrappers, and the gallery, are absolutely stunning!  The
gallery is as colorful and vivid as the fiction we talk about on this list. 
Take a visit.  She's a book dealer and many of the volumes she shows in the
gallery are for sale.

http://www.violetbooks.com/gallery-index.html

I will also add the link to the list's links section.

Jesse F. Knight

> From: "Michael Cummins" <mlcummins@...>

> > I however like _Captain Blood Returns_ more.  It is a collection of ten
stories.
>
> I might buy it, thanks.

     --For sheer swashbuckling I would go with the Captain Blood collection.


> >     I don't know what collection is on amazon.com, but I assume it is
>> _The Fortunes of Casanova & Other Stories_, edited by Adrian.  It too
will
> > provide several hours of entertainment.
> >
> are they swashbuckling tales? a hefty volume prehaps?

     --It is hefty enough, but I can't really call it a swashbuckling volume.


> what largeish place is Jesi near?

     Jesi is near Ancona, not too terribly far from the Adriatic.  I'm not
really positive, but the last time I was there, it struck me as something of
a suburb of Ancona.  Jesi is for the most part a newer city, but it has its
Old Town, as many towns do in California.  For instance, you can visit
modern Sacramento and also visit Old Town in Sacramento.  So Jesi is
relatively new, but does have a small square that would be the old part of
town, which has a grand old opera house.

>
>   My own favorite among Sabatini's unknown works is the Italian
> > _Bellarion the Fortunate_.
>
> a spirited swashbuckler?

     --I would say it is.  It has plenty of battle scenes and action.


>  _Venetian Masque_ is a spy story set in Venice
> > that is fun reading.
>
> In a modern setting?

     --I don't have the exact dates of the novel in front of me, but it
mentions Citizen-Representatives, so that would place it in the latter part
of the 18th century or the very beginning of the 19th century.


> I see Mr. Knight, I shall be extracting information constantly from the
> Encylopedia Sabatini in your brain,
> [god help you]

     --Always glad to provide information on Sabatini.  I truly do believe
that he deserves much more fame than he currently has.

Jesse F. Knight

> From: "Michael Cummins" <mlcummins@...>
>
>
> Did Sabatini ever make a comment about the 1935 Captain Blood or it's
star,
> was he pleased?

     If he did, I've not come across it.

> or did the mention his other films?

     The one film I am certain he did not like was the 1940 version of _The
Sea Hawk_.  Since the movie had nothing whatsoever to do with the book,
Sabatini asked his lawyers to get his name removed from the film.  However,
it appears that Warner Bros. had purchased the rights to the novel, and
there was nothing Sabatini could do but grit his teeth and see his name
attached to a film with which he had no real connection.

     I also know that he didn't care for Ramon Navarro (I might have the
spelling wrong, I don't have the list in front of me) as Scaramouche in the
1923 version.  He thought him too heavy for the role.  He visualized
Scaramouche as being slight and light.

     Looking at Sabatini's attitude toward films in a larger sense, I think
several things can be said.  He actually wrote the screenplays for three
different silent films early in the 20s, so he couldn't have been totally
disenchanted with the medium.  His foray into the medium, however, didn't
last long.  Sabatini did recognize the virtue of films--the medium's ability
to focus on colorful and vivid scenes and compelling action and swift plots.
These very virtues were also Sabatini's.  In one place he wrote, "Provided a
novel is sufficiently well-constructed, provided that the skeleton plot,
when stripped of its covering of words, still shows no flaw or joints--the
cinema version . . . cannot fail to enhance the value and interest of the
story."

     However, at the same time, Sabatini recognized a couple of limitations
of film.   In one place he wrote, "In writing a novel, the story-teller is
limited only by his own ability to express himself."  But film, according to
Sabatini, has physical  limitations.  This was before the days of special
affects.  Today, Sabatini might have revised that opinion.  There is a
deeper argument, however, that Sabatini would make against films.  "The
novelist," he wrote, "like the sculptor, endeavours to achieve 'the
perpetuation of a moment.'  A fleeting 'moment' captured and set down in
writing endures; but photographed on to cinema film, it remains but a
moment."  Whether or not you agree with that viewpoint, it was Sabatini's
viewpoint.

Jesse F. Knight

> I however like _Captain Blood Returns_
> more.  It is a collection of ten stories.

I might buy it, thanks.

>     I don't know what collection is on amazon.com, but I assume it is
_The
> Fortunes of Casanova & Other Stories_, edited by Adrian.  It too will
> provide several hours of entertainment.
>
are they swashbuckling tales? a hefty volume prehaps?

>     Since you are going to Italy might I think it would be especially
> appropriate to read one of Sabatini's Italian books.  Coincidentally, I
am
> working on an article on that very subject for the Sabatini celebration
next
> year.

what largeish place is Jesi near?

   My own favorite among Sabatini's unknown works is the Italian
> _Bellarion the Fortunate_.

a spirited swashbuckler?

  _Venetian Masque_ is a spy story set in Venice
> that is fun reading.

In a modern setting?


I see Mr. Knight, I shall be extracting information constantly from the
Encylopedia Sabatini in your brain,
[god help you]
M. Cummins

If I may be permitted to rant on about the same things:

Did Sabatini ever make a comment about the 1935 Captain Blood or it's star,
was he pleased? or did the mention his other films?



Thanks,
M. Cummins

Reading over my own message about Fraser, Colonel
Blood, and so on, I noticed that my message might
be slightly unclear for any readers who are not
obsessively interested in the Stuarts (and Sabatini and Dumas).  The Villiers
who appears in
_The King's Minion_, a novel about James I, is, of
course, George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham,
infamous favorite of James, slightly heroic lover of the French queen for Dumas,
and a far more important character for most of us than his son
the 2nd duke.

In answer to Jesse's question about the Fraser
intro. to _Captain Blood_, I'd say the book (a
handsome trade paperback) is worth the price if
you have any need at all for a copy of the novel,
though there's nothing startling in the
introduction.  Ironically, Fraser's strongest
statement about _Captain Blood_ comes elsewhere,
in his _The Hollywood History of the World_.  He
calls it "one of the great unrecognized novels of
the twentieth century, and as close as any modern
writer has come to a prose epic" (92).

> From: "Michael Cummins" <mlcummins@...>
>
> I like to bring entertaining books on holiday and since I'm heading to
> italy what more appropriate than Mr. Sabatini.
> Can anyone suggest a good one other than Blood, Sea Hawk, Black Swan or
> Scaramouche.
> Are the the two Blood sequels any good?
> Also I see an edition of Short Stories avalible on Amazon.com, any good?

      Let me deal, first, with the issue of the two Blood sequels.  They are
well worth reading.  I don't really regard them as sequels, although
certainly they appeared after _Captain Blood_.  But rather they seem to me
to be more like episodes taken out of Blood's career.  Neither are novels,
but rather short story collections.  _The Fortunes of Captain Blood_ is a
collection of six long stories.  I however like _Captain Blood Returns_
more.  It is a collection of ten stories.  "The Expiation of Madame de
Coulevain" and "The Gratitude of Monsieur de Coulevain," which are really
two chapters of one long story, I think are brilliant.  The noble conclusion
of "we'll save our tears to water some nobler grave" is as fine as any of
Sabatini's world famous opening lines.  And as for sheer delightful surprise
the opening story, "The Blank Shot" can hardly be bettered.

     I don't know what collection is on amazon.com, but I assume it is _The
Fortunes of Casanova & Other Stories_, edited by Adrian.  It too will
provide several hours of entertainment.

     Since you are going to Italy might I think it would be especially
appropriate to read one of Sabatini's Italian books.  Coincidentally, I am
working on an article on that very subject for the Sabatini celebration next
year.  My own favorite among Sabatini's unknown works is the Italian
_Bellarion the Fortunate_.  _Venetian Masque_ is a spy story set in Venice
that is fun reading.

     Sabatini was an admirer of Cesare Borgia, and he wrote a number of books
on him and his era.  Two of my favorites are _The Banner of the Bull_ which
is a brilliant collection of three short novels and _The Justice of the
Duke_.  If you like the surprise ending both of these collections you will
find eminently satisfying.  _Chivalry_ is another fine short story
collection.  It deals with one of Borgia's captains and its half a dozen
inter-related short stories are about the Captain's relationships with six
women.

     As for where to pick up used copies--I would suggest Advanced Book
Exchange and also www.bibliofind.com.  Both have any number of Sabatini
books for sale in various price ranges.

Happy reading!

Jesse F. Knight

I like to bring entertaining books on holiday and since I'm heading to
italy what more appropriate than Mr. Sabatini.
Can anyone suggest a good one other than Blood, Sea Hawk, Black Swan or
Scaramouche.
Are the the two Blood sequels any good?

Also I see an edition of Short Stories avalible on Amazon.com, any good?

I suppose the hardest part is finding a source.



M. Cummins

> I thought I'd point out that George MacDonald Fraser
> has a mention of Colonel Blood on page xiii of his
> introduction to the 1998 Akadine (Common Reader)
> edition of _Captain Blood_.

     I know that Fraser is a big fan of Sabatini.  In fact, I remember that
he once wrote that _Captain Blood_  was one of the great novels of the 20th
century.  I wondered what you thought of his introduction.  I've got three
or four editions of _Captain Blood_ already.  Is his introduction worth the
price of another edition?

Jesse F. Knight

I've just been reading through the archives, and I
thought I'd point out that George MacDonald Fraser
has a mention of Colonel Blood on page xiii of his
introduction to the 1998 Akadine (Common Reader)
edition of _Captain Blood_.  Fraser doesn't say
this, but Thomas Blood may have been pardoned by
Charles II as a result of advice from George
Villiers, 2nd duke of Buckingham.  This makes an
interesting, if indirect, link between two
Sabatini novels, since Villiers appears in _The
King's Minion_.

> From: "Michael Cummins" <mlcummins@...>

> i couldn't name more than three of his swashbucklers, it's a shame.
> i know there's a site somewhere with a complete list of works.

     Here is the site you are looking for.  It is a list I put together
several years ago.  It is in a small way somewhat out of date (and I hope to
expand it in the near future with some information I am gathering from the
University of North Carolina), but surely it is about 98% accurate.  The
only real changes are in the Uncollected Short Story section.

http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~soon/histfiction/sabatinilist.html


Now that I think about it, I probably should post a listing of all of his
work for this list, as well.

Jesse F. Knight

>     And by the way, I think Sabatini is really underrated as a short
story
> writer.  You'll see an occasional story in an historical fiction
collection,
> but nothing is ever collected in mainstream anthologies at all  (you know
> the sort of anthology I mean--_Great English Short Stories--that sort of
> thing).  It is a real shame for he was a first-rate short story writer.
>

I think the guy's horrifically forgotten. Only one of his books is in print
in Europe(Fortunes of a Cassanova and other stories i think) even in the
states he's got little out. I can't explain my passion for Swashbucklers
and the little ammount of Sabatini I have read tells me he really knew how
to tell a Swashbuckler by concerning himself with plot and action and not
getting to technical(like Forester).
But, i couldn't name more than three of his swashbucklers, it's a shame.
i know there's a site somewhere with a complete list of works.

M. Cummins

> From Jesse F. Knight

>>     I also heard that Arnold Schwartzenager (forgive the spelling) was
> going to star in Captain Blood.
>  Does anyone know of any further or later information on either project?

  > From: "Michael Cummins" <mlcummins@...>

> I have reference to it in a book, it was due to start in 1995 with a
modest
> budget. i never heard the Schwartzenager part though.

     It is hard for me to imagine Schwatzenager starring in anything with a
modest budget!

     Also, I thought I would mention that this site has pretty good
information on Sabatini movies:

  http://us.imdb.com/Name?Sabatini,+Rafael#f1990

     It is by no means complete, but I am writing them with my updated
information.

Jesse F. Knight

Regarding Sabatini's Uncollected Short Stories

> From: "Michael Cummins" <mlcummins@...>
>
>Unless you edit them,  write an introduction and find a publisher, anyone?

     At some point I want to bring together the _Complete Short Stories of
Rafael Sabatini_, which would include all of the stories he collected in
book form, plus all of the uncollected short stories.  It would probably
have to be two volumes, for Sabatini was a prolific short story writer
throughout his life.  But I've not looked around for a publisher.  It would
probably have to be some sort of press that caters to colleges and
universities.  If anybody has any ideas, I would love to hear them.

     And by the way, I think Sabatini is really underrated as a short story
writer.  You'll see an occasional story in an historical fiction collection,
but nothing is ever collected in mainstream anthologies at all  (you know
the sort of anthology I mean--_Great English Short Stories--that sort of
thing).  It is a real shame for he was a first-rate short story writer.

Jesse F. Knight

I have a number of Sabatini short stories--generally photocopied from
magazines but in many cases the actual magazines themselves--that have
never been collected into book form, and I am trying to think of some way
to share them with the list.  Does anybody have any ideas?  Frankly,
because of the daunting task, I hesitate to type them and send them to the
list as message, but on the other hand, I don't have a scanner right now.
Even if I did, I'm not sure where or how we would distribute some materials
to the membership.

     I guess the first issue is: Does the list want to see uncollected
Sabatini short stories?
     If you do, then how to get it done is the second issue.

     I'm looking for your input.

     And by the way, if you have run across any short stories that you think
I might not have, let me know, and I will check it against my list.

------I'd love to but a scanner seems the only way. Unless you edit them,
write an introduction and find a publisher, anyone?

A couple of years ago it appeared in print that Dustin Hoffman was
involved in a project to bring Scaramouche to the screen.  At the time, he
was undecided about whether to star in the film himself or just to direct
and/or produce it.  I wrote to him, but not too surprisingly I heard
nothing back.

----I never heard of that

     I also heard that Arnold Schwartzenager (forgive the spelling) was
going to star in Captain Blood.  I think he would be awful in the role of
the Latin-spouting, elegant Captain, but that's another issue entirely.

------- Errol Flynn got it pretty right  I think in a well mounted film
that's magical for me it would be foolish to undertake such a project.

   At any rate, I have heard nothing since then.  Does anyone know of any
further or later information on either project?

I have reference to it in a book, it was due to start in 1995 with a modest
budget. i never heard the Schwartzenager part though.

A couple of years ago it appeared in print that Dustin Hoffman was involved
in a project to bring Scaramouche to the screen.  At the time, he was undecided
about whether to star in the film himself or just to direct and/or produce it. 
I wrote to him, but not too surprisingly I heard nothing back.

     I also heard that Arnold Schwartzenager (forgive the spelling) was going to
star in Captain Blood.  I think he would be awful in the role of the
Latin-spouting, elegant Captain, but that's another issue entirely.

     At any rate, I have heard nothing since then.  Does anyone know of any
further or later information on either project?

Best regards,
Jesse F. Knight

Usually I don't talk about my own fiction, but since the list likes Sabatini
I thought I might mention to the group that I wrote what I call a Homage To
Sabatini--that is, a swashbuckling story in the tradition of Sabatini.  It
appeared a few months ago, so you will want to check in the Archives.  The story
is titled "A Fine Sense of Madness" and it is about an American in the French
Revolution.  The magazine is titled Of Ages Past.  The URL is
http://www.angelfire.com/il/ofagespast

Sincerely,
Jesse

I have a number of Sabatini short stories--generally photocopied from
magazines but in many cases the actual magazines themselves--that have never
been collected into book form, and I am trying to think of some way to share
them with the list.  Does anybody have any ideas?  Frankly, because of the
daunting task, I hesitate to type them and send them to the list as message, but
on the other hand, I don't have a scanner right now.  Even if I did, I'm not
sure where or how we would distribute some materials to the membership.

     I guess the first issue is: Does the list want to see uncollected Sabatini
short stories?
     If you do, then how to get it done is the second issue.

     I'm looking for your input.

     And by the way, if you have run across any short stories that you think I
might not have, let me know, and I will check it against my list.

Sincerely,
Jesse

Are there any books or biographies published on Captain Thomas Blood,
do you know, Michael?

---- No, I'm afraid as far as I know very little else is known about
Captain Blood.

I thought the list might like to know that there is going to be a Rafael
Sabatini Celebration in 2000 in Sabatini's birthplace of Jesi, Italy.  I have
been invited to speak.

     I will keep the group informed of any specific information that develops,
but I was wondering if anybody might have any ideas of what might be a nice
feature of the Sabatini Celebration.

     Here are some of the ideas I've had.

     1.  An exhibition of movie posters from movies based on Sabatini's books.
     2.  A slide show of Sabatini's life.
     3.  A reading of the play The Tyrant.

     So far they have talked about an opera based on the play The Tyrant.  It is
hard for me to imagine that they will be able to translate the play, turn it
into a libretto, get the opera written, hire a symphony orchestra and singers,
conduct rehearsals and put it on--all within the next 18 months.  Still, the
Italians probably have a better idea than I if that is doable.

     Mainly, I wondered if anyone had any ideas of what could be put on in such a
Festival.

Sincerely,
Jesse F. Knight

Wow, talk about a swashbuckler, Captain Thomas Blood must rank right up
there with the best of them.

     Talk about material for a movie!  Heck, the theft of the crown jewels would
make a great story and movie by itself.  I wonder why Sabatini never wrote about
him.  Surely, with all of his reading in history he must have run across him.  I
guess he figured one fictional Captain Blood was enough.

     Are there any books or biographies published on Captain Thomas Blood, do you
know, Michael?

     This is a good start to the list, I think.

Jesse F. Knight

A man by the name of Captain Thomas Blood was born in 1618 and fought for
Cromwell in the English Civil War. With the restoration Blood lost his
Irish estates. In 1663 he headed a plot to seize Dublin Castle but it was
discovered and his cheif accomplises were executed. In 1671 along with
three accomplises he broke into the Tower of London and stole the Crown
jewels. Eventually captured Blood was restored to his estates an pardoned
by an impressed Charles II. He was the only man to succesfully steal the
crown jewels even if it didn't last long. He died in 1680.




------------------
M. Cummins