Fantasy Mundy, Talbot: Cleopatra's Promise v1.0

[Genesis]

Cleopatra's Promise - Talbot Mundy (ePUB)

Cleopatra's Promise, published in Adventure June 15, 1935, was the 2ed of 4
novelettes by Talbot Mundy that would eventually become his last Tros of Samothrace
novel 'The Purple Pirate'.

Illustrations by N. O'Keeffe



The saga of Tros of Samothrace is the most unified and sustained of Talbot
Mundy's extended works. It is probably his best-remembered and most influential
series, especially among science fiction and fantasy writers, who borrowed much
from the cycle.

Shortly after Mundy finished Om he began planning a novel that he called Queen
Cleopatra. He put the project aside, and instead produced a massive epic based
around one of the supporting cast members of his projected novel, a Greek
sailor-adventurer named Tros of Samothrace. Mundy's aim may have been to create
interest for his Cleopatra novel in the pages of Adventure. The series sparked a
hot historical debate that ran for a decade. Mundy's revisionism, especially his
view of Rome as a proto-fascist state, was ahead of its time.
The Tros Saga

VOL 1: 1925-6. Tros of Samothrace.

- 1. Tros of Samothrace, A: 10 February 1925.
- 2. The Enemy of Rome, A: 10 April 1025.
- 3. Prisoners of War, A: 10 June 1925.
- 4. Hostages to Luck, A: 20 August 1025
- 5. Admiral of Caesar's Fleet, A: 10 October 1925.
- 6. The Dancing Girl of Gades, A: 10 December 1925.
- 7. Messenger of Destiny, A: 10 February 1926
- 8. Messenger of Destiny, A: 20 February 1926.
- 9. Messenger of Destiny, A: 28 February 1926.

These nine installments were rewitten as Tros of Samothrace. The length of the
final novel gives some idea of the scope of the work. The novel spans from 55
BC, as Caesar makes plans to invade Britain, and ends with the failure of those
invasion plans.

VOL 2: 1929. Queen Cleopatra.
Not published in magazine form.
First American ed.: Bobbs-Merrill (February 1929), 426 pgs

As in original plan, Cleopatra is the main protagonist, but Tros' role may have
expanded due to the popularity of the Adventure series. Ends with the
assassination of Caesar, and Cleopatra's escape from Rome.

VOL 3: 1935. The Purple Pirate.

- 1. Battle Stations, A: 1 May 1935.
- 2. Cleopatra's Promise, A: 15 June 1935.
- 3. The Purple Pirate, A: 15 August 1935.
- 4. Fleets of Fire, A: 1 October 1935.

These four installments were rewritten as Purple Pirate. This novel concerns
civil wars after Caesar's death. Ends before Cleopatra's death.

Two paperback reprints of the Tros Saga have generally confused many readers who haunt used bookshops.

The Avon printings of the late 1960s in four volumes, breaking them at the same place that Mundy did:

- 1. Tros (1967) comprised installments 1 & 2; reprinted by Tandem Books (London 1971).
- 2. Helma (1967) comprised installments 3 & 4; reprinted by Tandem Books (London 1971).
- 3. Liafail (1967) comprised installments 5 & 6; reprinted by Tandem Books (London 1971).
- 4. Helene (1967) comprised installments 7, 8 & 9; reprinted by Tandem Books (London 1971).

Avon also reprinted The Purple Pirate and Queen Cleopatra (both 1970) with wonderful and sexy Frank Frazetta covers.
-R.T. "Ditch" Gault

I am presently working on ePUB of Vol 1: Tros of Samothrace. I do NOT yet have
access to Vol 2 Queen Cleopatra or the other 3 parts of Vol3 The Purple Pirate.
If anyone has scans of those issues of Adventure containing the Purple Pirate stories, please message me.

Update:I now have Queen Cleopatra, and have started ePUBing, but I beleive it is still under copyright in Canada, so will not be cross-posting it here.


-Amontoth

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[Blue Tyson]

Very nicely done, thanks. Really enjoyed this.