Mansfield with Monsters (22 page)

Acknowledgements

Debbie and Matt would like to thank their friends and families for their support and encouragement, and Stephen Minchin for his excellent editorial collaboration and enthusiasm for the project. Debbie and Matt are indebted to the following authors and directors whose works provided inspiration: H. G. Wells, Anne Rice, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Robert Louis Stevenson, William S. Burroughs, Richard Matheson, George Romero, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Joe R. Lansdale, John Wyndham, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Maurice Gee, Jules Verne, J. Michael Straczynski, and of course Katherine Mansfield.

About the Authors

Katherine Mansfield was born Katherine Mansfield Beauchamp Murry on 14 October 1888, and is widely acknowledged as New Zealand's most accomplished author. Mansfield left New Zealand at the age of 19, moving to England where she befriended and was inspired by a number of prominent modernist and ‘weird' writers. Travelling widely, Mansfield was inspired by the diverse stories and legends of the places she visited. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 34.

 

Katherine Mansfield with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, on his tandem velocipede. Image courtesy of the August Derleth Trust.

 

Matt Cowens studied literature, philosophy, religion, film, and Russian at Victoria University before pursuing a career in education. Debbie Cowens has an honours degree in literature specialising in Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Old English. Both taught English in Japan and now work as teachers on the Kapiti Coast where they divide their time between work, writing, and raising their young son. They have previously collaborated on short films and card games, and have published numerous short stories individually.
Mansfield with Monsters
is their first collaborative book and was undertaken in the rare moments when their four-year-old son was neither occupying the computer nor rampaging through the house.

 

Matt Cowens, Debbie Cowens. Images courtesy of the authors.

 

 

First published in 2012 by Steam Press Ltd

 

© Text: Katherine Mansfield, 1912–1922; Matt and Debbie Cowens, 2012

© Cover image: Melinda Fawver

© Fly image: Burning Image, © Ink spot image: Alexander Galanakis

 

This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing with the purpose of private study, research, criticism, or review, as permitted under copyright laws, no part may be reproduced by any process, nor transmitted, nor translated without prior written permission from the copyright owners. Enquiries should be addressed to the publisher. Matt and Debbie Cowens have asserted their moral rights.

 

National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Cowens, Matt, 1976–

Mansfield with monsters : the untold stories of a New Zealand icon / by Katherine Mansfield, Matt Cowens and Debbie Cowens.

ISBN 978-0-9876635-0-4 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-0-9876635-1-1 (epub) — ISBN 978-0-9876635-2-8 (mobi)

1. Mansfield, Katherine, 1888–1923. 2. Short stories, New Zealand. 3. Horror tales. I. Mansfield, Katherine, 1888–1923. II. Cowens, Debbie, 1978– III. Title. NZ823.3—dc 23

 

Steam Press appreciates the cooperation and assistance of Dr Marcus Walker, the August Derleth Trust, the New York Public Library, the Alexander Turnbull Library, and the Society of Authors (UK).

 

Stephen Minchin at Steam Press is grateful to Ange for her unwavering support, Ang Jenkins for her feedback as this collection began, Jane Harris for her spontaneous and positive words of encouragement, and Amber Carter and Marie Hodgkinson for their excellent proofreading and feedback.

 

ebook conversion by Steam Press Ltd.

 

Steam Press

www.steampress.co.nz [email protected]

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