Tag: Castalia Library

The Next Library Serial

Yesterday marked the end of the successful 116-part serialization of Sir Charles Oman’s STUDIES IN THE NAPOLEONIC WARS, which ended with an intriguing take on the iconoclastic brilliance of the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley by Sir Oman.

He knew what was expected of him: “I am the Duke of Wellington, and must do as the Duke of Wellington doth”, was one of his touches of sardonic humour. But it was also one more indication of the fact that he regarded an inflexible adherence to his own peculiar code of duty as the highest obligation.

But above all, to thine own self be true,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.

In the aftermath of the completion of the STUDIES, we want to know which Library or History book you would like to see serialized next on the Castalia Library substack. Please feel free to share your opinion on the matter by voting for one of the four selections in the next 24 hours. The serialization will be announced and begin tomorrow. And if you haven’t subscribed yet to the substack, you really should consider doing so, since it is free.

Library and History subscribers debate the next serialization.

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Another Reason to Subscribe

Folio Society is celebrating… something.

We want to hear about your LGBTQ+ recommendations

One of the greatest comforts reading can offer is the feeling of being seen, whether in the form of fiction or true stories.

We’d like to do our part in amplifying voices and connecting more readers with stories that have moved them.

So in celebration of Pride month, we’re asking you which LGBTQ+ books and authors you’d like to see as Folio collectibles. Editor’s Pick:

Conundrum

A memoir of identity and belonging, and the pain, joy and discovery that the journey from man to woman entailed.

From the team at Folio, Happy Pride!

I’d very much like to see Folio do an edition of Space Raptor Butt Invasion by award-winning author Chuck Tingle. If any work embodies the spirit of Pride, it’s that epic and inclusive tale of interspecies love in space. But failing that, Moira Greyland’s The Last Closet would be my recommendation.

It’s not going to get any better going forward, because the lunatics aren’t just running the asylum, they literally own it now. If you want to help us defeat the complete convergence and eventual demolition of the deluxe book industry, there are three things you can do:

  1. Subscribe to a Library, History, or Libraria subscription.
  2. Buy a leather book from Arkhaven or NDM Express.
  3. Subscribe to Castalia Library or the forthcoming Signature Society.

Speaking of NDM Express, the first t-shirt of the month has been announced and it is the very handsome Castalia History LEGO ERGO SCIO shirt.

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PRIDE AND PREJUDICE sold out

The Libraria edition, anyhow. The Library edition would be sold out already too, except for the fact that we published 250 additional copies. So, if you’ve been on the fence or if you’re planning to buy someone one for Christmas, you should probably do it soon before the Library edition is also sold out.

Also, if you want to keep up with Castalia Library’s announcements, news, and production updates, I HIGHLY recommend obtaining a free subscription to the Castalia Library substack. As an added bonus, you’ll receive daily serializations of one of Castalia’s works.

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Leather at NDM Express

If you’re not a Castalia Library or Castalia History subscriber, but you’re looking to pick up a single leather book, you can now do so at NDM Express. This includes PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, which is now available in stock, as well as the second edition of THE MISSIONARIES.

Subscribers should continue to buy any additional leather books at the Arkhaven store, as they will be able to apply a subscriber’s discount there.

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PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

We’re very pleased to announce that both editions are now bound and shipping to the warehouse. We printed 250 more than usual knowing that there would be additional demand. If you want to pick up one of these magnificent reproduction of the spectacular Peacock first edition, you can do so at Arkhaven.

There are more pictures of both editions at the Castalia Library substack. And speaking of which, I would be remiss if I did not mention the amazing adventures of the celebrated Major Grant, the scout whom Wellington declared was worth more than a brigade of troops, which are being serialized there and are very well worth reading.

These documents took one back at once to one of the most daring escapes of a British prisoner which can be found in the annals of the Napoleonic Wars—an escape carried out with an almost absurd nonchalance and readiness of wit. The tale was known to Napier, who thought it so curious that he spared four pages for it in a chapter of his fourth volume. And Mr. John Buchan made an excellent story out of it in one of his volumes of miscellaneous adventures, with confirmatory detail out of his fertile imagination, and an exciting account of Grant’s dealings with Spanish guerrilleros, who sought to rescue him, and were refused his permission to carry him off.

What really happened I can give from the memoirs of Colquhoun Grant’s brother-in-law, Sir James McGrigor, who devoted a chapter to the exploits of his evasive and resourceful relative.

Colquhoun Grant, of the IIth Foot, was one of four officers whom Wellington employed on special reconnoitring and Intelligence duties. They were all good horsemen, good linguists in Spanish, French, and Portuguese, and noted for resourcefulness and cool heads. Whenever the French were on the move it was their duty to hang about the advancing army, on its flank sometimes, not infrequently in its rear, and to report to headquarters all important developments. These officers were Colquhoun Grant, Waters of the Portuguese Staff, Leith Hay of the 29th Foot, and Charles Somers Cocks of the 16th Light Dragoons. The pitcher that goes often to the well ends by being broken, and all these gallant Intelligence officers came to their day of ill-luck; it was impossible to foresee all possible dangers. Waters was captured on the Coa in April 1811, Leith Hay near Toledo in April 1813, Somers Cocks was killed in action (not while scouting) at Burgos in October 1812. Of Colquhoun Grant’s extraordinary capture and escape this screed must suffice to tell the tale.

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The History of the Byzantine Empire

If you’re a Castalia History subscriber, you just might want to visit the Castalia Library substack today, as there is an announcement there concerning the fifth book in the Castalia History series, the April-May-June subscription book.

Also for Castalia History subscribers: there are about 20 Annual subscribers who still need to renew their subscriptions manually since we are not permitted to do so automatically in this particular situation. If your subscription has not been renewed, or if you need to make a catchup payment, you will receive an email shortly informing you of the need to do so.

And since we’re talking about Castalia History, I strongly recommend the daily excerpt from STUDIES IN THE NAPOLEONIC WARS, as the chapters on the tales of the secret services feature stories worthy of an action-adventure movie. The recently completed chapter on Brother James, who travelled through the enemy empire searching for a missing Spanish army that found itself surrounded by allies turned enemies in the aftermath of Napoleon’s decision to replace the Bourbon King of Spain with his brother Joseph, really has to be read to be believed.

In April La Romana had begun to be perturbed at the way in which the stream of dispatches and private letters from Spain, which had hitherto arrived regularly, had suddenly dried up. An officer who got through from Madrid with details of the accession of Ferdinand VII brought a complaint that the Home Government had got no dispatch from the expeditionary force for many weeks. Napoleon had stopped the post at both ends. This caused much alarm and evil surmises. They were more than fulfilled when on June 24th there was delivered to the Marquis a dispatch from Bayonne, announcing that the Bourbons had abdicated, that Joseph Bonaparte had been proclaimed King of Spain, that he had been acknowledged by the whole realm, and that he was to transmit the news to his army, and order the regiments to swear allegiance to their new sovereign.

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Pride, Prejudice, and Peacocks

Castalia Library has posted information, complete with pictures, about the successful test stampings of both the Library and Libraria editions of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE at the substack.

In producing the Castalia Library limited editions of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, we started the process by acquiring an original first edition of the famous Peacock edition illustrated by Hugh Thomson. We wanted to reproduce the original design, but we also wanted to ensure that the spine of the book looked good on the shelf next to the other Library books. This necessitated a modification of the spine layout. We also needed to clean up the lines of the feathers on the cover, since the fine lines on the cloth original would not translate well to the gold stamping featured on the leather covers.

Due to the unusually high level of interest in this book, we are making it available for purchase ahead of its scheduled shipping in the second week of April to subscribers and non-subscribers alike. The usual discount codes apply for subscribers who wish to purchase an extra copy or two as gifts or for their collections.

It may be interesting to contemplate the fact that while Pepsi replaced its 32oz Gatorade bottle with a 28oz for the same price, Nabisco shrunk the family-size box of Wheat Thins by 12 percent, and Easton Press increased the price of a signed first edition by 72.7 percent, Castalia Library subscription books are still available for the same price at which they were first introduced in 2019. We’ve managed to do this by making improvements in the efficiency of our production process while steadily improving the quality. And although we will eventually charge for shipping, we haven’t found it necessary to do so yet.

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Go Away, Gamma

In case I haven’t made it entirely and absolutely clear, being “a longtime reader”, being a “supporter”, being a “subscriber”, being a “backer”, or even being “your biggest fan” cuts absolutely no ice with me. In fact, to the contrary, if you are any of those things, I have higher expectations of you than I do of some random drive-by commenter who knows nothing of me or of this community.

Today at Sigma Game, I asked women who had experience of raising, dating, or marrying Deltas to share their opinions concerning some of the pros and cons of Delta males. I also specifically told men to not share their own opinions or experiences, but to limit themselves to commenting on what the women were saying.

Needless to say, there were a few Gammas who were too emotionally incontinent to restrain themselves and simply let the women talk. One, in particular, didn’t hesitate to ignore my directions and go right off the deep end.

Elwin Ransom: Comments are interesting, but as I read them I can’t help feeling that many classifications by commenters are very likely skewed by perception and situational biases. I have long thought about a Myers-Briggs style test for SSH, but instead of just creating one and guessing what certain types will answer, thereby invoking the “this is what me the Alpha/Sigma would say” type response, a better proposal would be to create such a test, then administer it to a known set including all types, then correlate responses based on what the known set of answers. Hard part would be to find and agree upon the classification of the set of base answerees – but once complete, would be more quantitative way of self-assessment.

Man of the Atom: What does your husband do?

[Very long digression by a few commenters on why Man of the Atom, as a commenter, would attempt to keep the comments on track and on topic redacted.]

Elwin Ransom: He’s providing an unasked-for service, anonymously, on a comment board on the internet. That makes him a loser. Not Gamma on your part, and no further contemplation required.

Vox Day: It’s fascinating how the Gammas always identify themselves so quickly. Do you simply not have any idea how transparent all your little machinations are to everyone, ESPECIALLY women, who play those games much better than you do?

Man of the Atom: You still haven’t told us what your husband does.

Elwin Ransom: He shuts the fuck up when no one asked for his opinion, that’s what he does.

Vox Day: You didn’t. Why should he? Also, you’re permanently banned. I don’t wish to turn this into a no-Gammas zone, but it’s probably going to end up that way over time.

But wait, there’s more! Because of course there is. Within 11 minutes of my banning Mr. Ransom from Sigma Game, I received an email which led to the following exchange.

“Elwin Ransom” (real name redacted): The commenter on your Sigma Game thread that you just banned was me. I have been a reader for close to two decades, and subscriber to both Castalia series since they started. No longer.

Vox Day: Excellent. You clearly learned nothing over those two decades. Your behavior was unwanted, disrespectful, vulgar, and you should be embarrassed for yourself. But you won’t be, because you’ll just fire up your Gamma delusion bubble and convince yourself that you were justified. We’ll be pleased to refund you for any books you haven’t received yet. Just email [the usual address] to make the request.

So, for those who didn’t subscribe early enough, if it turns out there is an extra Thucydides, we’ll let you know.

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