Joseph Jorkens
Encyclopedia
Joseph Jorkens, usually referred to simply as Jorkens, is the lead character in over 150 short stories written by the Irish author Lord Dunsany between 1925 and 1957. Dunsany is noted for his fantasy short stories, fantastic plays, novels and considerable other writings.
The Jorkens stories, primarily fantasy
but also including elements of adventure, mystery and science fiction
literature, have been collected in a series of six books, currently (Aug. 2007) available in a three-volume omnibus edition, and were a key inspiration for the "club tale" type of short story.
to the Pall Mall Gazette
, The Strand
and The Spectator
) and newspapers (including The Daily Mail and The Irish Independent), and also in their collected book form. Some of the stories were read on radio, and they were popular enough that for at least one announcement of a new book, an introductory piece by Lord Dunsany was included in the publisher's house magazine.
A total of 154 stories are included in the Collected Jorkens edition. It has been rumoured at literary conventions that one or two further uncollected (or even unpublished) pieces may remain.
The stories take place in a wide range of settings, most often in the UK, Ireland and parts of Africa, and are of varied character. Some of the early stories are notably lengthy, while most of the later are shorter, some just a few pages. A recurrent sceptical character, Terbut, often provokes their telling while the narrator (Dunsany himself) tends to be sympathetic.
Some of the stories bear different titles in their periodical appearances than in the books (the book titles are apparently those Dunsany gave the stories, and he was strongly opposed to any changes to the stories or their titles), and were accompanied by sketches in both colour and black-and-white.
The Jorkens oeuvre contains the story which introduced the futuroscope, a device later the subject of a whole Dunsany novel, and one of the last short stories Dunsany wrote. The last two Jorkens stories were written in 1957, in February and August; the author died in October.
The stories often contain a "sting", with Jorkens appearing to do something remarkable, or get rich, but missing out in the end, but in their lightness often also touch on bigger themes.
s as those attributed to Baron Münchhausen
, essentially established the genre of the fantastic tall club tale or bar tale, inspiring such disparate later descendants as L. Sprague de Camp
and Fletcher Pratt
's Tales from Gavagan's Bar
, Arthur C. Clarke
's Tales from the White Hart
(specifically acknowledged by Clarke in his introduction to the first Jorkens omnibus volume), Sterling E. Lanier
's Brigadier Ffellowes stories, Rhys Hughes
's Tallest Stories, Larry Niven
's Draco Tavern stories, Isaac Asimov
's Black Widowers
and Union Club
mysteries, Spider Robinson
's tales of Callahan's Place
, and even the animated cartoon series "The World of Commander McBragg
."
Typically, the club tale features one particular raconteur notorious for his colorful history and unbelievable reminiscences, who relates memoirs of his life to initially incredulous fellow club members; by the end of the story the latter are usually at least half taken in by the unlikely tale, and count the expense well worth it. Major variations include a recurring cast of club members or bar regulars with the story-teller being an outsider, non-fantastic (but still interesting) tales, or settings that are themselves fantastic, rendering the tales themselves more believable within their fictional context. The format has proven endlessly adaptable, with notable instances to be found in the science fiction
(Clarke and Robinson) and mystery
(Asimov) genres as well as fantasy.
, which are, in a rare move for Sime, done in colour. The originals of these illustrations, which exist for at least the first three Jorkens stories, are still available to see at Dunsany Castle.
Original collections:
Omnibus collections, Volumes II and III of which each contain a few stories not in the original collections:
The Jorkens stories, primarily fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
but also including elements of adventure, mystery and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
literature, have been collected in a series of six books, currently (Aug. 2007) available in a three-volume omnibus edition, and were a key inspiration for the "club tale" type of short story.
Origins
In the middle volume of his autobiographical trilogy, While the Sirens Slept, Dunsany notes the creation of Mr. Jorkens, on the 29 and 30 March in 1925, when "I wrote a tale called The Tale of the Abu Laheeb. There was in this tale more description of the upper reaches of the White Nile or of the Bahr-el-Gazal than I have given here; indeed the whole setting of that fantastic story may be regarded as accurately true to life, though not the tale itself. I mention this short story and the date, because it was the first time that I told of the wanderings of a character that I called Jorkens. He was my reply to some earlier suggestion that I should write of my journeys after big game and, being still reluctant to do this, I had invented a drunken old man who, whenever he could cadge a drink at a club, told tales of his travels."Development
Over the following 32 years, Dunsany continued to write of Mr. Jorkens, and the stories were popular and sold well, mostly initially to magazines (many enjoying wide circulation, from the Atlantic Monthly, Saturday Evening Post and Vanity FairVanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
to the Pall Mall Gazette
Pall Mall Gazette
The Pall Mall Gazette was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood...
, The Strand
Strand Magazine
The Strand Magazine was a monthly magazine composed of fictional stories and factual articles founded by George Newnes. It was first published in the United Kingdom from January 1891 to March 1950 running to 711 issues, though the first issue was on sale well before Christmas 1890.Its immediate...
and The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
) and newspapers (including The Daily Mail and The Irish Independent), and also in their collected book form. Some of the stories were read on radio, and they were popular enough that for at least one announcement of a new book, an introductory piece by Lord Dunsany was included in the publisher's house magazine.
A total of 154 stories are included in the Collected Jorkens edition. It has been rumoured at literary conventions that one or two further uncollected (or even unpublished) pieces may remain.
The stories take place in a wide range of settings, most often in the UK, Ireland and parts of Africa, and are of varied character. Some of the early stories are notably lengthy, while most of the later are shorter, some just a few pages. A recurrent sceptical character, Terbut, often provokes their telling while the narrator (Dunsany himself) tends to be sympathetic.
Some of the stories bear different titles in their periodical appearances than in the books (the book titles are apparently those Dunsany gave the stories, and he was strongly opposed to any changes to the stories or their titles), and were accompanied by sketches in both colour and black-and-white.
The Jorkens oeuvre contains the story which introduced the futuroscope, a device later the subject of a whole Dunsany novel, and one of the last short stories Dunsany wrote. The last two Jorkens stories were written in 1957, in February and August; the author died in October.
Style
The Jorkens stories are usually told in the "frame" of a gentlemans club in London, to which the narrator is invited in the first story, and of which he becomes a member. In general, Jorkens is sitting, and his attention is caught by someone else trying to tell a story, whereupon he provides a better story, in return, before and / or after, for a whiskey.The stories often contain a "sting", with Jorkens appearing to do something remarkable, or get rich, but missing out in the end, but in their lightness often also touch on bigger themes.
Club Tales
Dunsany's Jorkens stories, themselves in the tradition of such tall taleTall tale
A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some such stories are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories such as, "that fish was so big, why I tell ya', it nearly sank the boat when I pulled it in!" Other tall tales are completely...
s as those attributed to Baron Münchhausen
Baron Munchhausen
Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, Freiherr von Münchhausen , usually known as Baron Münchhausen in English, was a German nobleman born in Bodenwerder and a famous recounter of tall tales....
, essentially established the genre of the fantastic tall club tale or bar tale, inspiring such disparate later descendants as L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
and Fletcher Pratt
Fletcher Pratt
Murray Fletcher Pratt was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and history, particularly noted for his works on naval history and on the American Civil War.- Life and work :...
's Tales from Gavagan's Bar
Tales from Gavagan's Bar
Tales from Gavagan's Bar is a collection of short stories by science fiction and fantasy authors L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt, illustrated by the latter's wife Inga Pratt...
, Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's Tales from the White Hart
Tales from the White Hart
Tales from the White Hart is a collection of short stories by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, in the "club tales" style.Thirteen of the fifteen stories originally appeared across a number of different publications. "Moving Spirit" and "The Defenestration of Ermintrude Inch" were first...
(specifically acknowledged by Clarke in his introduction to the first Jorkens omnibus volume), Sterling E. Lanier
Sterling E. Lanier
Sterling Edmund Lanier was an American editor, science fiction author and sculptor who published as both Sterling Lanier and Sterling E. Lanier. He is perhaps known best as the editor who championed the publication of Frank Herbert’s bestselling novel Dune.-Life:Lanier was born in New York City...
's Brigadier Ffellowes stories, Rhys Hughes
Rhys Hughes
Rhys Henry Hughes , is a Welsh writer and essayist.Born in Cardiff, Hughes is a prolific short story writer with an eclectic mix of influences, which include Italo Calvino, Milorad Pavić, Jorge Luis Borges, Stanisław Lem, Flann O'Brien, Felipe Alfau, Donald Barthelme and Jack Vance...
's Tallest Stories, Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's Draco Tavern stories, Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's Black Widowers
Black Widowers
The Black Widowers is a fictional men-only dining club created by Isaac Asimov for a series of sixty-six mystery stories which he started writing in 1971...
and Union Club
The Union Club Mysteries
The Union Club Mysteries is a collection of mystery short stories by American author Isaac Asimov featuring his fictional mystery solver Griswold...
mysteries, Spider Robinson
Spider Robinson
Spider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author.- Biography :Born in the Bronx, New York City, Robinson attended Catholic high school, spending his junior year in a seminary, followed by two years in a Catholic college, and five years at the State...
's tales of Callahan's Place
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
In the fictional universe of Spider Robinson, Callahan's Place is a bar with strongly community-minded and empathic clientele. It appears in the Callahan's Crosstime Saloon stories In the fictional universe of Spider Robinson, Callahan's Place is a bar with strongly community-minded and empathic...
, and even the animated cartoon series "The World of Commander McBragg
Commander McBragg
Commander McBragg is a cartoon character who appeared in short segments produced by Total Television Productions and animated by Gamma Productions...
."
Typically, the club tale features one particular raconteur notorious for his colorful history and unbelievable reminiscences, who relates memoirs of his life to initially incredulous fellow club members; by the end of the story the latter are usually at least half taken in by the unlikely tale, and count the expense well worth it. Major variations include a recurring cast of club members or bar regulars with the story-teller being an outsider, non-fantastic (but still interesting) tales, or settings that are themselves fantastic, rendering the tales themselves more believable within their fictional context. The format has proven endlessly adaptable, with notable instances to be found in the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
(Clarke and Robinson) and mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
(Asimov) genres as well as fantasy.
Image
Jorkens was pictured a number of times, in magazine and newspaper graphics, inside the collected volumes and on dust jackets, these depictions varying considerably. Among the more famous illustrations are those by Dunsany's favourite artist, Sidney SimeSidney Sime
Sidney Sime was an English artist in the late Victorian and succeeding periods, mostly remembered for his fantastic and satirical artwork, especially his story illustrations for Irish author Lord Dunsany.-Early life:...
, which are, in a rare move for Sime, done in colour. The originals of these illustrations, which exist for at least the first three Jorkens stories, are still available to see at Dunsany Castle.
Stories
The books of Jorkens stories are:Original collections:
- The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph JorkensThe Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph JorkensThe Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens is a collection of fantasy short stories by author Lord Dunsany. It was first published in London by G. P. Putnam's Sons in April, 1931, with the American edition following in September of the same year from the same publisher. It was the first collection of...
(1931) - Jorkens Remembers AfricaJorkens Remembers AfricaJorkens Remembers Africa is a collection of fantasy short stories, narrated by Mr. Joseph Jorkens, by author Lord Dunsany. It was first published in New York by Longmans, Green & Co. in October, 1934, with the English edition following in November of the same year from the same publisher...
(1934) - Jorkens Has a Large WhiskeyJorkens Has a Large WhiskeyJorkens Has a Large Whiskey is a collection of fantasy short stories, narrated by Mr. Joseph Jorkens, by author Lord Dunsany. It was first published in London by Putnam in September, 1940. It was the third collection of Dunsany's Jorkens tales to be published...
(1940) - The Fourth Book of JorkensThe Fourth Book of JorkensThe Fourth Book of Jorkens is a collection of fantasy short stories, narrated by Mr. Joseph Jorkens, by author Lord Dunsany. It was first published by Jarrolds in 1947. It was the fourth collection of Dunsany's Jorkens tales to be published...
(1947) - Jorkens Borrows Another WhiskeyJorkens Borrows Another WhiskeyJorkens Borrows Another Whiskey is a collection of fantasy short stories, narrated by Mr. Joseph Jorkens, by author Lord Dunsany. It was first published in London by Michael Joseph in 1954. It was the fifth collection of Dunsany's Jorkens tales to be published...
(1954) - The Last Book of JorkensThe Last Book of JorkensThe Last Book of Jorkens is a collection of fantasy short stories around the character Joseph Jorkens by author Lord Dunsany. First prepared for publication in early 1957, it was left unpublished on Dunsany's death later that year, and was finally issued in a limited first special edition only in...
(2002)
Omnibus collections, Volumes II and III of which each contain a few stories not in the original collections:
- The Collected Jorkens, Volume One (2004)
- The Collected Jorkens, Volume Two (2004)
- The Collected Jorkens, Volume Three (2005)