Flamingoes in Orbit

Flamingoes in Orbit is a collection of short stories by Philip Ridley. It was first published in the United Kingdom by Hamish Hamilton ltd in 1990.[1][2] It was Ridley's third literary work for adults after his 1988 novella Crocodilia[3] and his 1989 novel In The Eyes of Mr Fury.[4]

Flamingoes in Orbit
Jacket cover illustrated by Sarah Ball of the book's first edition
AuthorPhilip Ridley
Cover artistSarah Ball
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreShort story collection
PublisherHamish Hamilton
Publication date
1990
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages182
ISBN0-241-12922-2

In 2015 publisher Valancourt Books announced plans to republish Flamingoes in Orbit, along with Ridley's previously published gay themed literature for adults.[5] This new edition of the book was released on 26 June 2018.[6]

Both versions of the book are significantly different, with many of the stories being rewritten and some renamed in the 2018 edition. The newer version of the book also adds two new stories to the collection but omits five stories from the first edition.[7][8]

Stories

First edition

The first edition of the book is composed of thirteen short stories, with the title story first:

  • Flamingoes in Orbit
  • The Turbulence of Butterfly Wings
  • Embracing Verdi
  • Pins
  • Towers of Belief
  • What We Care to Remember
  • The Fear of Hyacinths
  • A Shoe Three Inches Big
  • Leviathan
  • What's Here
  • Rattlesnake
  • Go
  • The Barbaric Continuity

Fully revised edition (2018)
Flamingoes in Orbit
Cover designed by Henry Petrides of the fully revised edition of the book published in 2018
AuthorPhilip Ridley
Cover artistHenry Petrides
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreShort story collection
PublisherValancourt Books
Publication date
2018
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback), e-book
Pages278
ISBN978-1-948405-04-1 (hardback) 978-1-948405-05-8 (trade paperback)

The 2018 edition of the book is composed of ten short stories:

  • The Tooth of Troy Flamingo (Originally named Flamingoes in Orbit in the first edition)
  • Pins
  • A Shoe Three Inches Big
  • The Fear of Hyacinths
  • Embracing Verdi
  • Alien Heart
  • Towers of Belief
  • Leviathan
  • Another Story (Highly reworked version of The Barbaric Continuity from the first edition)
  • Wonderful Insect

Previously published stories

Before the publication of the first edition of the collection two of Ridley's stories had already appeared in other anthologies. Embracing Verdi had appeared in the collection Oranges and lemons: stories by gay men (edited by David Rees and Peter Robbins) in 1987[9] and Leviathan was featured in the collection 20 Under 35: Original Stories by Britain's Best New Young Writers (edited by Peter Straus) in 1988.[10]

For the 2018 edition two further stories were added to the collection that had been previously published. Alien Heart had been included in Projections 4½ (edited by John Boorman and Walter Donohue) in 1995.[11] Wonderful Insect has been reported to have been previously published elsewhere and a significant part of the story is featured in Ridley's semi-autobiographical prose Introduction of his second collection of plays for adults Philip Ridley Plays: 2 which was published in 2009.[12]

References
  1. Cooke, Judy (11 May 1990). "Private Hells". New Statesman & Society. 3 (100): 40.
  2. Kaveney, Roz (22 June 1990). "Hard and soft men". The Times Literary Supplement (4551): 674.
  3. Philip Ridley. Crocodilia. ISBN 9780946189175.
  4. Philip Ridley (1989). In the Eyes of Mr Fury. ISBN 9780140107326.
  5. Post on The Valancourt Books Blog: '2015 Year-End Roundup and A Look Ahead to 2016'
  6. Flamingoes in Orbit page on Valancourt Book's Website
  7. Ridley, Philip (1990). Flamingoes in Orbit (First ed.). Great Britain: Hamish Hamilton Ltd. ISBN 9780241129227.
  8. Ridley, Philip (26 June 2018). Flamingoes in Orbit (Fully revised (2018) ed.). Richmond, Virginia: Valancourt Books. ISBN 9781948405041.
  9. David Rees (February 1987). Oranges and lemons: stories by gay men. Third House. ISBN 978-1-870188-00-5.
  10. "20 under 35 : Original Stories by Britains best new young writers: Amazon.co.uk: Peter (editor) Straus: Books". amazon.co.uk.
  11. Ridley, Philip (1995). "Philip Ridley: Alien Heart". In Boorman, John; Donohue, Walter (eds.). Projections 4½. London, Great Britain: Faber and Faber Limited. pp. 252–260. ISBN 0-571-17609-7.
  12. Ridley, Philip (18 February 2009). "Introduction". Ridley Plays: 2. Great Britain: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. pp. ix–xvi. ISBN 9781408111161. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
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