99 Fables

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 60-8101At the time of his death, the longest manuscript still in William March's possession was a collection of fables which he had completed for the first time in 1938. While 'Company K', 'The Tallons', 'The Bad Seed', and all the rest were in progress, March culled and rewrote, polished and revised these fables, always finding them "too good to destroy," yet never finding them a good venture for a commercial publisher. Now, posthumously, the collection appears in this book, and readers can enjoy the fabulous world of William March. This is not to imply that it is a "pretty world." The fables themselves are an immediate delight, and everyone will find many favorites among the 99. But in the end, March's view of the world is a hard one, and the morals, however charmingly expressed are bitter enough to rival the themes of his novels. As a matter of fact, it is as an echo of the themes of his novels that the 99 Fables take on a special significance, according to editor William Going. Written over so long a period of March's life, they form, Mr. Going believes, a sort of "writer's notebook of ideas." Here are all his favorite themes, treated in miniature, ready to be expanded in the novels which made March famous. thus, fables 7 and 42 foreshadow 'The Bad Seed'; 59 and 60 "point up the senseless cruelty that lies at the heart of 'Company K'." Fable 57 "Why did they destroy my one reason for living?" "This need for a life illusion," says Mr. Going, "is the theme of 'The Looking Glass.'" 'Wild Horses' grew out of March's horror at watching the Germans give up their liberty, and so on. But 99 Fables will be read less for clues to March's philosophy than because the individual stories are superb, the themes meaningful, and the cumulative effect powerful. William T. Going editor of this collection, was on the faculty of the Department of English, University of Alabama, before going to the Southwestern Campus of Southern Illinois University, where he is now Dean of Instruction. The author of numerous scholarly articles, he received his doctorate from the University of Michigan in 1954. Richard Brough, who contributed the delightful illustrations, is a distinguished artist and a member of the Art Department faculty , University of Alabama