Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library


The Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library was a series of trade paperback books published in the United States by the Newcastle Publishing Company between 1973 and 1980. Presumably under the inspiration of the earlier example set by the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature that had largely been forgotten, being out of print or otherwise not easily available in the United States, in durable, illustrated trade paperback form with new introductions. For a number of works the Library’s editions constituted the first U.S. or first paperback edition. Together with the earlier series from Ballantine Books, it contributed to the renaissance of interest in the fantasy genre of the 1970s.
The Library was produced under the editorship of Robert Reginald and Douglas Menville, editors of Forgotten Fantasy magazine, who were also responsible for several other similar series from other publishers. It included works by authors such as William Morris, H. Rider Haggard, Lord Dunsany, and Leslie Barringer, among others. Projected to include a total of twenty-six fantasy classics, the Library ultimately released only twenty-four. Possibly the remaining two are represented by two non-fantasy books Newcastle published without the series designation, the first two Dr. Nikola novels by Guy Boothby: Enter, Dr. Nikola, and Dr. Nikola Returns.
The covers for the first eight books were generic and described by their designer Douglas Menville as "rather crude". With the fourth book in the series, artists such as George Barr were engaged to produce more attractive covers at a discount, under an arrangement whereby the artist was able to retain the original paintings for private sale after the books were published. The ninth book onward featured more imaginative, wrap around art, and two of the first eight were later reissued in this style.

Books

  1. The Glittering Plain, William Morris
  2. The Saga of Eric Brighteyes, H. Rider Haggard
  3. The Food of Death: Fifty-One Tales, Lord Dunsany
  4. The Haunted Woman, David Lindsay
  5. Aladore, Sir Henry Newbolt
  6. She and Allan, H. Rider Haggard
  7. Gerfalcon, Leslie Barringer
  8. Golden Wings and Other Stories, William Morris
  9. Joris of the Rock, Leslie Barringer
  10. Heart of the World, H. Rider Haggard
  11. The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician, Edwin Lester Arnold
  12. Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair, William Morris
  13. Shy Leopardess, Leslie Barringer
  14. Ayesha: the Return of She, H. Rider Haggard
  15. The Fates of the Princes of Dyfed, Kenneth Morris
  16. The House of the Wolfings, William Morris
  17. Under the Sunset, Bram Stoker
  18. Allan Quatermain, H. Rider Haggard
  19. The Roots of the Mountains, William Morris
  20. Nada the Lily, H. Rider Haggard
  21. Jaufry the Knight and the Fair Brunissende, translated by Alfred Elwes
  22. The Spirit of Bambatse, H. Rider Haggard
  23. When the Birds Fly South, Stanton A. Coblentz
  24. Allan's Wife, H. Rider Haggard