Match To Flame: The Fictional Paths To Fahrenheit-451 by Ray Bradbury
02/08/2008 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
pub: Gauntlet Press, 5307 Arroyo St. Colorado Springs, CO 80922, USA. 484 page hardback. Price: $110.00 (US). ISBN: 1-887368-86-8). Buy Match To Flame: The Fictional Paths To Fahrenheit-451 in the USA - or Buy Match To Flame: The Fictional Paths To Fahrenheit-451 in the UK  check out website: www.gauntletpress.com
One important question that always needs to be asked about books like this is, 'Why?'
There may be several reasons. One is to put the archive material from the Ray Bradbury collection into the public domain. Yet, you may argue, surely this could be put onto the Internet and provide either free or limited access. This is what the scholars and academics would want - an easy way to get at the material without doing the hard work of research. Someone has already put the relevant material together and done the hard work of writing a commentary. But this book is also for the Bradbury collector, the completist who wishes to possess all the works of their favourite author, even the early drafts. Behind such a project has to be an enthusiast. The editor, Don Albright, is one such person and has compiled this volume with love and care. The project is endorsed by Ray Bradbury.
The intention of this volume is to trace the genesis of the iconic novel 'Fahrenheit 451'. For those who are unaware of the connection, this is the temperature at which paper catches fire and for younger readers, the Fahrenheit scale the one in which your parents measured temperature.
This volume begins with a facsimile of the correspondence between Bradbury and Richard Matheson relating to Bradbury's novella 'The Fireman' which first appeared in 'Galaxy' in 1951 and was the start of an enduring friendship. The introduction by William Touponce is the academic analysis of the development of the process that led up to novel and the themes and influences on the work. This is followed by textural notes compiled by Jon Eller.
The first story, 'The Reincarnate' was probably written about 1942 but was not discovered until 1977. It was re-written for publication in 2005. Written in the second person, it is essentially a zombie story, with a dead man walking abroad, trying to come to terms with the idea that he no longer belongs with the living. It was the precursor to 'Pillar Of Fire' published in 1948. In this story, the main character is again a resurrected corpse. However, it is a couple of centuries after his original interment. He discovers that all the cemeteries are being emptied and the bodies incinerated. The people in this future do not want to be reminded of death. To this end, they have also burnt any books that may remind people of it, including such authors as Poe and Lovecraft. It is this latter theme that leads towards 'Fahrenheit 451'.
'The Library' is a fragment about a librarian being forced to relinquish his books for burning. 'Bright Phoenix' was written about the same time but was not published until 1963 and although dealing with the burning of books also introduces the idea of people being books and books being living things. The suggestion is that knowledge cannot be completely destroyed. The story is followed by a facsimile of an early draft, showing how Bradbury re-worked his ideas.
It is the theme of the destruction of literature that is followed in the story 'The Mad Wizards Of Mars' (1949) - a surreal story in which the last copies of selected banned books are being taken to Mars for disposal. There, the spirits of the authors wait, ready to do battle for survival. 'Carnival Of Madness' is also set in a time where books have been destroyed, so no one knows the name of Poe. Stendhal, a librarian has had 'The House Of Usher' recreated. This story will be relished by the aficionados of Poe.
'The Cricket On The Hearth' reproduced here both as facsimile draft and finished story, written in 1951 but not published until 2003, does not seem to have direct link with 'Fahrenheit 451' except in its development of the idea of paranoia. In the novel, people will inform on neighbours they suspect of hoarding illicit books. This short story foreshadows the surveillance society and the McCarthy era which is why it has been included here.
A theme that began to recur in his stories was the idea of the pedestrian. In a world that even in the 1950s saw more and more Americans using cars rather than walk short distances, a lone walker was unusual. 'The Pedestrian' (1951) was reprinted many times. It is a theme he returned to on a number of occasions.
'The Smile' and 'Where Ignorant Armies Clash By Night' are variations on a theme. Instead of books, the central object for denigration is a work of art, specifically, the Mona Lisa. The government has decreed that such objects are decadent and must be physically despised before destruction - the mob queues up to spit on the painting. The latter, conceived as a novel with the man whose job it is to complete the destruction having ethical qualms is represented here as fragments. These show the way Bradbury was developing his theme and in them can be seen the seeds of the character that became Montag.
In 1950, Bradbury wrote 'Long After Midnight'. This is the first draft of the novella that was to become 'The Fireman' and contains all the elements of the latter 'The Fireman' printed here directly after 'Long After Midnight' gives the opportunity to compare the two texts. The novel 'Fahrenheit 451' is an extension and refinement of these manuscripts.
Although many readers are not interested in the genesis of a masterwork, there are enough of us that find such developments fascinating to make this a worthwhile project.
Pauline Morgan |
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