Karen Blixen, how the Seven Gothic Tales got published
I work with the book:
En Lille Bog Om Blixen by Lindhardt og Ringhof.
The last part, I was writing about 9th of April 1934, when Karen Blixen's book was published in the USA.
I will continue to write bullet points every time, when I speak about the book.
I will add extra personal notes, and Google AI reflections or helps whenever, I am not sure in things or I need more info.
Page 53-54.
Source: https://thefirstedition.com/product/seven-gothic-tales-frontispiece-by-rex-whistler/?srsltid=AfmBOoowcJLfwJzKW2hHrJwauvgRn_Gol9oZYpC_r8btaVBx-tgl0LCM
- Karen Blixen's aunty, Bess had a friend from America. Her name was Dorothy Canfield Fischer.
Google AI help:
Yes, that is completely correct. Karen Blixen's maternal aunt, Mary Bess Westenholz (affectionately known as Moster Bess), had a long-standing transatlantic friendship with the famous American author and educational reformer, Dorothy Canfield Fisher. [1, 2]
This connection turned out to be the absolute turning point for Karen Blixen’s literary career. [1]
How Moster Bess and Dorothy Saved Blixen's Career
- The Rejection Cycle: In 1931, after losing her coffee farm in Kenya, Karen Blixen returned to Denmark broke and devastated. Under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen, she finished her first masterpiece, Seven Gothic Tales. Because she wrote it in English, she tried to get it published in America and England, but every major publisher rejected the manuscript.
- The Transatlantic Connection: Distressed by her niece's failure, Moster Bess stepped in. She utilized her deep bond with Dorothy Canfield Fisher—who was highly influential in the American literary scene and sat on the selection committee for the prestigious Book-of-the-Month Club.
- The Breakthrough: Bess sent the manuscript across the Atlantic to Dorothy. Dorothy immediately recognized Blixen’s genius, bypassed traditional gatekeepers, and personally delivered the book to publisher Robert Haas.
- The Result: Haas accepted the book, and Dorothy ensured it was chosen as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. It became an overnight sensation in America, launching Blixen into worldwide stardom before her home country of Denmark even knew who she was. [1, 3, 4, 5]
Without that specific friendship between Moster Bess and Dorothy Canfield Fisher, the world might never have known the works of Isak Dinesen. [1, 6]
Are you researching the letters traded between Bess and Dorothy, or would you like to know more about how Seven Gothic Tales was received once Dorothy got it published?
- Thomas, Karen Blixen's brother also helped her by writing another letter, and asking help from Robert Haas.
Google AI help:
That is a crucial part of the story. Karen Blixen’s younger brother, Thomas Dinesen, played a vital role alongside Moster Bess by executing the plan and writing a compelling, persistent letter to get Seven Gothic Tales into the hands of publisher Robert Haas. [1, 2, 3]
Thomas acted as his sister's literary manager and strategist during her darkest moments. [4]
Thomas Dinesen's Strategic Move
- Belief in Her Genius: When Blixen returned from Kenya broken and sick in 1931, Thomas met her at the quay in Marseille. During a rest at Lake Geneva, she read him two of her stories. Thomas was deeply impressed and became determined to see her succeed.
- Navigating the Rejections: After English and American publishers repeatedly mailed back the manuscript, the family knew they needed a personal angle. Thomas used the connection established by Moster Bess to bypass standard publishing gatekeepers.
- The Letter to Dorothy Canfield Fisher: Thomas wrote directly to Dorothy Canfield Fisher in Vermont, leveraging the family friendship. He enclosed his sister's manuscript and asked for her professional help.
- Engaging Robert Haas: Dorothy Canfield Fisher was highly impressed by the manuscript and immediately championed it to her neighbor and publisher, Robert Haas. Thomas continued to correspond and handle the logistical pressures during the year-long deliberation process before Haas took the gamble to publish it. [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]
Thanks to Thomas's proactive management and letter-writing, the manuscript safely crossed the Atlantic and landed exactly where it needed to be. [2, 5, 7]
Would you like to know more about Thomas and Karen's close relationship in Africa before her return, or are you looking into the specific pseudonym choice of Isak Dinesen that they agreed upon for this launch? [3, 5]
- Finally, Harrison Smith and Robert Haas accepted the book.
Google AI help:
Exactly. In 1934, the publishing house of Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, Inc. officially accepted the manuscript and published Seven Gothic Tales. [1]
This historic decision proved to be a masterstroke for everyone involved.
The Historic Publication and Its Impact
- The Title Page Credits: When the first edition of the book hit American shelves in April 1934, it proudly bore the imprint of Harrison Smith and Robert Haas. To further solidify the family connection, the book featured an introduction written by Dorothy Canfield herself.
- The Book-of-the-Month Triumph: Because Dorothy sat on the selection committee, she helped secure the book as a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. This meant that Harrison Smith and Robert Haas did not just publish a niche European book; they instantly distributed tens of thousands of copies to readers across America.
- The Birth of Isak Dinesen: Because the book was accepted under her chosen pen name, the American public fell in love with "Isak Dinesen" without knowing the author was actually a Danish baroness living back in her childhood home.
- The Publisher's Favorite: The partnership with Haas was so collaborative that the publishers actually altered the book's structure. They flipped the order of the stories to put "The Deluge at Norderney" first, simply because it was Robert Haas's favorite story. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
This leap of faith by Smith and Haas rescued Karen Blixen from financial ruin and anonymity, paving the way for her next massive success, Out of Africa. [1]
Would you like to know how Denmark reacted when they discovered this anonymous international bestseller was actually written by Karen Blixen, or should we look into her financial arrangement with Smith and Haas?
- The Seven Gothic Tales was sold in more than 50 000 pieces through book clubs.
- When Karen Blixen was 50 years old, the Seven Gothic Tales was published in Denmark. It had a different title: Syv fantastiske fortællinger.
Exactly. You have highlighted two very important milestones in the book's path to becoming a legendary piece of world literature.
The numbers and the transition to the Danish market reveal just how fascinating her breakthrough was:
The Book Club Phenomenon
- Massive Initial Sales: The Book-of-the-Month Club selection was a massive commercial engine. Selling over 50,000 copies right out of the gate was a staggering achievement for a debut author in 1934, especially during the Great Depression.
- Financial Rescue: This massive volume provided Blixen with substantial royalty checks that finally gave her financial independence after the devastating bankruptcy of her coffee farm in Kenya. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The Transition to Denmark: Syv fantastiske fortællinger [5]
- A Landmark Birthday Gift: Born on April 17, 1885, Karen Blixen was indeed 50 years old when the collection was finally published in Denmark on September 25, 1935.
- Not a Translation, a Re-imagining: Blixen originally hired translators to convert her English text into Danish, but she hated their work. She threw their drafts away and rewrote the entire book herself from scratch. Because of this, Syv fantastiske fortællinger is legally and structurally considered a "gendigtning" (a free poetic rewriting) rather than a direct translation, featuring distinct stylistic changes meant specifically for Danish ears.
- The "Fantastic" Title: She changed the word "Gothic" to "Fantastiske" (Fantastic) for the Danish audience because the literary tradition of "Gothic tales" didn't translate cleanly to Scandinavian culture, whereas "fantastic tales" perfectly captured the magical, romantic, and eerie atmosphere of her stories. [1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9]
It is incredible to think that she had to find fame abroad in a foreign language at age 49 before her own country would publish her at age 50. [1, 3, 4, 5]
Would you like to explore how the Danish critics reacted to Syv fantastiske fortællinger (it actually sparked a bit of controversy), or should we look at how this success set up her next book, Out of Africa? [10, 11, 12]
When I was a child, I had experience about book clubs.
One was from my primary school, where my teacher sold books from the table. In Hungary, the teacher's table was giant, and two side secret storage. I think, she could store minimum 30-40 books in each storage.
I used to have book about animals, like horses, fishes, and animals from different continents.
My other memory about book clubs came from my grandmother, she was a member of Reader's Digest.
Google AI:
That is a beautiful and incredibly common memory. For millions of households around the world, the phrase "book club" instantly conjures up those iconic, gold-embossed hardcover volumes from Reader's Digest Condensed Books. [1, 2]
If your grandmother was a member, she was part of one of the most successful direct-mail subscription services in literary history. [3]
The Magic of the Reader's Digest Book Club
- The Faux-Leather Hardcovers: Unlike the Book-of-the-Month Club which sent out regular, single editions of new novels, Reader's Digest created a specific, standardized product. They sent quarterly (and later bi-monthly) multi-colored hardcover anthologies featuring distinct patterns, gold lettering, and beautiful interior illustrations.
- The "Condensed" Formula: Every single volume contained three to six current bestselling novels or non-fiction books. Expert editors painstakingly abridged (or "condensed") the texts with the authors' permission to give readers a faster, family-friendly reading experience without the "filler".
- Household Staples: Launched in the spring of 1950, the series grew into a massive publishing juggernaut, selling over 10 million copies a year at its peak in the 1980s. For generations of children and grandchildren, these books were visual fixtures on living room bookshelves, usually lined up perfectly in chronological order.
- The Authors They Made Famous: Your grandmother likely read the early thrillers and mysteries of legendary authors like Dick Francis, Mary Higgins Clark, and Victoria Holt, who were heavily featured in the club's rotations. [1, 3, 4, 5, 6]
While Karen Blixen's club book was a full-length, single literary debut designed to launch her career, the Reader's Digest club was all about curation, comfort, and keeping a steady stream of reading material arriving right to the front door. [1]
Do you remember what the spines looked like on your grandmother's shelf, or is there a specific story or author you remember reading out of her collection? [1]
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