Penrith-based bookshop Withnail Books have just published a limited edition chapbook Lawrence/Atreides: The Roots of Dune, presenting a previously unpublished extended version of the essay by Kara Kennedy PhD, writer, researcher and curator of DuneScholar.com, on the similarities between the real-life World War One officer T.E. Lawrence and the hero of Dune, Paul Atreides.
Many of Withnail Books previously published chapbooks, such as a representation of The Slave Race, featuring Philip K. Dick’s first SF tale, sold out very quickly, so if you’re a Dune fan, you may want to place your order sooner rather than later!
Kara’s essay explores how the legend of ‘Lawrence of Arabia‘ inspired Frank Herbert as he developed his story of a foreign figure who immerses himself in a desert culture and helps lead the locals to overthrow their oppressors.
Accompanying the text is a selection of rarely, if ever, reprinted illustrations, in black and white and full colour, from the original 1926 Subscribers’ Edition of Lawrence’s account of the desert campaign, Seven Pillars of Wisdom – some of which, publisher Adam Newell suggests, you’d be forgiven for thinking, from a sideways glance at least, were created for an edition of Dune…
This limited edition chapbook is offered accompanied with two A5 prints on heavy laid paper: a version of the chapbook’s newly created Frontispiece, hand-signed by the artist Sharon Gosling, and a reproduction of one of the especially Dune-like illustrations originally produced for the 1926 edition of Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
Kara Kennedy, PhD, is an author, educator, and AI consultant whose areas of interest include science fiction, digital humanities, digital and AI literacy, and women’s studies. She has taught literature, writing, and academic skills, and writes academic/non-fiction books and articles published in traditional presses and online outlets.
She runs DuneScholar.com for science fiction research and the AI Literacy Institute for AI resources and training. She has a keen interest in closing the digital divide and gender gap in technology through innovative digital and AI literacy initiatives.
Former book editor Adam Newell says he opened his bookshop, Withnail Books in Penrith, Cumbria (blog here, eBay here) by mistake. “Too many books, so it’s time to sell some,” he explains. “As someone I admire once said, ‘I love a little shop’, and now I have one, in Penrith. Come and say hello next time you’re spending a delightful weekend in the country!”
Over 10,000 words total, this edition is strictly limited to 250 numbered copies, this edition will not be reprinted.
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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