3 replies to this topic

[Arg0naut]

Texas John Alden. Did I miss something? I can't figure out why that story was titled as it was.

I couldn't discover a John Alden in the text. I have two guesses:

I know from REH's letters that a boxing story was altered by the publishers to become a Costigan yarn. I wonder if this Alden was a character renamed as Breckinridge Elkins to appeal to the magazine reader's sense of familiarity.
or else,
Bob wrote the title and unfolded the story on a tangent away from his original conception.

I fear I might have missed something, but it does bother me as a curiosity. Can somebody explain?

Edited by Arg0naut, 31 May 2012 - 10:02 AM.

[godzilladude]

Remember the Pilgrim, John Alden? Go look him up. His story is kinda like THIS story, and that is why (likely) the editor changed the title to that.

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/John_Alden

[Arg0naut]

Thanks for clearing that up. As a Canadian, I confess I had never heard of John Alden, but I suppose most American readers would have understood the reference immediately.

[deuce]

Thanks for clearing that up. As a Canadian, I confess I had never heard of John Alden, but I suppose most American readers would have understood the reference immediately.

Actually, I think it would've been obscure to 1930s Americans, but there ya go.

BTW, welcome to the forum!