Charles Neider (January 18, 1915 in Odessa, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire - July 4, 2001, in Princeton, New Jersey) was an American writer, known for editing the ''
Autobiography of Mark Twain
The ''Autobiography of Mark Twain'' is a lengthy set of reminiscences, dictated, for the most part, in the last few years of the life of American author Mark Twain (1835–1910) and left in typescript and manuscript at his death. The ''Autobiograph ...
'' and authoring literary impressions of
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
.
Movie
His 1956 novel, ''The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones'', was freely adapted into the movie ''
One-Eyed Jacks'' (1961) starring and directed by
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...
.
Antarctica
Between 1969 and 1977, he participated in three expeditions to Antarctica funded by the
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
. and the United States Navy.
He wrote about these trips in "Edge of the World: Ross Island, Antarctica" (1974, dedicated to
James F. Brandau
Lieutenant Commander James Florian Brandau, US Navy, retired, served multiple tours in Antarctica as a helicopter pilot as part of the U.S. Navy squadron VX-6. Several geological features in Antarctica are named in his honor, and he is featured in ...
and "Beyond Cape Horn: Travels in the Antarctic"(1980)
Neider's 1986 novel ''Overflight'' is based on an incident when Neider was a passenger in a helicopter crashed on Mount Erebus in 1971.
[New York Times Obituary of Charles Neider, 2001]
retrieved November 27, 2020. The novel also concerns a plane crash with 256 passengers on board, so it is possibly a fictional combination of his 1971 experience and the 1979
Mount Erebus Disaster
The Mount Erebus disaster occurred on 28 November 1979 when Air New Zealand Flight 901 (TE-901) flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. Air New Zealand had been operating scheduled A ...
.
Mark Twain scholarship
Neider edited a major edition of the ''
Autobiography of Mark Twain
The ''Autobiography of Mark Twain'' is a lengthy set of reminiscences, dictated, for the most part, in the last few years of the life of American author Mark Twain (1835–1910) and left in typescript and manuscript at his death. The ''Autobiograph ...
'', published in 1959. In this, he expressed regret that Twain's daughter
Clara Clemens
Clara Langhorne Clemens Samossoud, formerly Clara Langhorne Clemens Gabrilowitsch (June 8, 1874 – November 19, 1962), was a daughter of Samuel Clemens, who wrote as Mark Twain. She was a contralto concert singer and she managed his estat ...
would not permit him to include Samuel Clemens' dictations from June 1906 (the 19th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, and 25th).
Other Mark Twain Publications he edited include:
* ''The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain'' (1957)
* ''The Autobiography of Mark Twain'' (1959)
* ''The Complete Humorous Sketches and Tales of Mark Twain'' (1961)
* ''Mark Twain: Life As I Find It'' (1961)
* ''The Travels of Mark Twain'' (1961)
* ''Complete Essays of Mark Twain'' (1963)
* ''The Adventures of Colonel Sellers'' (1965)
* ''The Complete Travel Books of Mark Twain'' (1966)
* ''Mark Twain'' (1967)
* ''The Comic Mark Twain Reader'' (1977)
* ''The Selected Letters of Mark Twain'' (1972)
* ''A Tramp Abroad'' (1977)
* ''Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims and Other Salutary Platform Opinions'' (1984)
* ''Papa: An Intimate Biography of Mark Twain by Susy Clemens'' (1985)
* ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1985)
* ''Mark Twain at His Best: A Comprehensive Sampler'' (1986)
* ''The Outrageous Mark Twain'' (1987).
Awards
* In 1977, he received a
John Simon Guggenheim fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...
.
Personal life
He was married to Joan Merrick. He died on July 4, 2001, at his home in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
.
[IMDB Bio of Charles Neider]
retrieved November 27, 2020
References
External links
FindAGrave Memorialfor Charles Neider, retrieved November 27, 2020.
IMDB Bio of Charles Neider(additional pictures)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neider, Charles
City College of New York alumni
McMurdo Station
Scott Base
United States and the Antarctic
Explorers of Antarctica
1915 births
2001 deaths
People from Princeton, New Jersey
Writers from New Jersey
Russian and Soviet emigrants to the United States