Lynn Munroe Books

Herbert Kastle
Granada Uniform Edition & other paperbacks

Herbert D. Kastle (1924-1987) was a Brooklyn-born American writer of various types of books including paperback originals from the late 50s into the 80s. He also wrote stories for the science fiction magazines. He may be best remembered today for two classic Gold Medals – HOT PROWL and THE REASSEMBLED MAN. Later in his career he found success writing steamy “mainstream” hardcover novels in the style of Harold Robbins and Sidney Sheldon for publishers like Arbor House and Delacorte. I can’t blame Kastle for writing this stuff, the pay was good and the books were popular and you have to do what you gotta do to pay the rent and the kids’ tuition. They’re not bad books, in fact I hope you will enjoy them. They’re just not for me, not as collectible as the genre stuff he did earlier. It also never ceases to amaze me how raunchy all those later books are – the depravity and pervy sex and violence in these bestselling “mainstream” hardcovers always outstrips anything you can find in a sleazy sixties paperback. This is an overview of Kastle in both US and UK paperbacks, with special emphasis on the British reprints by Granada and Grafton. They put out PB editions of almost all of his books, most of them highlighted by flashy color wraparound photo covers by Beverley Le Barrow and Andrew Cockrill.

1957

ONE THING ON MY MIND – Popular Library 823, PBO

Canadian edition from Popular Library, Toronto is shown here.

UK PBO revised edition: Grafton 0-586-06576-8, 1986

Grafton, a division of the Collins Publishing Group, continued the uniform wraparound photo cover format of the Granada uniform edition shown below. Kastle’s later novels proved so popular in Britain that his paperback publisher brought out new editions of his earliest novels. ONE THING ON MY MIND had been out of print for almost 30 years.

1958

KOPTIC COURT – Simon & Schuster hc (hardcover)(Hardcovers not shown here unless so noted.)

1st PB: as 7 KEYS TO KOPTIC COURT – Crest D271, 1959.

Reprint: Avon, 1972, not shown

UK: as KEYS TO 7 ROOMS, WH Allen hardcover, 1958

UK PB: Ace (Harborough) H366, 1960

As KOPTIC COURT – Mayflower, 1975 (not shown)

1959

BACHELOR SUMMER – Avon T355, PBO

UK PB: Grafton 0-586-06577-6, 1986 (not shown)

CAMERA – Simon & Schuster hc

1st PB: Bantam H2133, 1960

Reprint: Dell 0998, 1971

UK: WH Allen hc, 1960
UK PB: Four Square 627, 1962

UK PB revised edition: Grafton 0-586-06578-4, 1987

1961

COUNTDOWN TO MURDER – Crest s491, PBO

UK PBO Granada Mayflower 0-583-12763-0, 1978 (not shown). This ISBN also assigned to HOT PROWL, see below.

Reprinted Grafton (same ISBN) (not shown)

THE WORLD THEY WANTED – St Martin’s Press hc

1st PB: Avon, 1972 (not shown)

UK: WH Allen hc, 1962

UK PB: Granada Mayflower 583-12416-X, 1975

1964

THE REASSEMBLED MAN – Gold Medal L1494, PBO

Kastle’s science-fiction sixties classic is desired for its fantastic four-nudes cover art by Frank Frazetta.

I will be auctioning this Fine copy, and all of the Kastle collection, on eBay in the summer of 2008.

2nd PB: Gold Medal R2041, no date (nd) (1969)

Fawcett Gold Medal wisely re-used the popular Frazetta cover art on this reprint edition.

If it is true that there are only seven plots, then the plot of this story is SUPERMAN. Average schmuck Edward Berner is given superhuman strength and sexual prowess and power by visiting aliens studying Earth. The difference between Kastle’s Superman and the Superman of the comics is that while the comic book Superman uses his powers for the good of mankind, Edward Berner is strictly interested in self-aggrandizement, personal gain, egocentric romantic conquests, bullying and stupidity.

Australian PB: Eclipse no number (nn), nd

Revised 1st hc: as EDWARD BERNER IS ALIVE AGAIN!, Prentice-Hall, 1975 (hardcover shown here, no PB with this title)

Copyright page says “portions of this novel were previously published under the title THE REASSEMBLED MAN”. To be more precise, the first 9½ chapters are new. From halfway into chapter 10 until the end of the book, THE REASSEMBLED MAN is reprinted in full with minor changes, such as an additional closing page.

UK: as THE THREE LIVES OF EDWARD BERNER – WH Allen hc, 1976

UK PB: Granada Mayflower 0 583 12617 0, 1978 (scarce)

1965

HOT PROWL – Gold Medal d1591, PBO

Last book as Herbert D. Kastle, after this he drops the middle initial.

UK PB: Mayflower, 1977.

Granada 0 583 12763 0, 1982. 1984 reprint shown.

Publisher creates confusion by assigning the same ISBN used on COUNTDOWN TO MURDER.

1968

THE MOVIE MAKER – Bernard Geis hc

1st PB: Dell 5866, 1969

With this 500-page bestselling blockbuster, Kastle created a new career as a “mainstream” novelist.

UK: WH Allen hc, 1969

UK PB:Mayflower 583 11692 2, 1970

Granada 1973, see below.

Grafton 1978 (not shown)

1969

MIAMI GOLDEN BOY – Bernard Geis hc

1st PB: Avon, 1971

Cover by Robert McGinnis

UK WH Allen hc, 1970

UK PB: Granada Mayflower, 1972 (not shown)

<Granada 0 583 12006 7, 1982, uniform editionGrafton not shown

The kinky sex and soap opera formula of THE MOVIE MAKER was so successful Kastle continued writing these the rest of his life.

1971

SURROGATE WIFE – writing as “Valerie X. Scott as told to Herbert d’H. Lee”– Dell 7578, PBO

UK: WH Allen hc, 1972

UK PB: Mayflower 583 12129 2, 1973

“nonfiction”

The British showed Dell what type of cover this title called for. The Mayflowers, Granadas and Graftons cover models all seem to be Page Three Girls.

1972

MILLIONAIRES – Delacorte hc

1st PB: Dell 5630, 1973

UK: WH Allen hc, 1972

UK PB: Granada 1973

< Granada 0-583-12078-3, 1982 (5th, uniform edition) Grafton not shown

1973

ELLIE – Delacorte hc

1st PB: Dell 2176, 1974

UK: as LITTLE LOVE, WH Allen hc, 1973
UK PB: Mayflower 1974, not shown
Granada 0-583-12228-0, 1982 uniform edition (not shown) Grafton, 1986 not shown

1975

CROSS-COUNTRY – Delacorte hc
1st PB: Dell 4585, 1975 not shown
<Reprint Dell 14585, 1984

UK:WH Allen HC, 1975
UK PB: Mayflower, 1977 not shown
Granada 0-583-12581-6, 1979 not shown
Grafton not shown

1976

THE GANG – Dell 2786, PBO

UK: WH Allen HC, 1977

<UK PB: Granada Mayflower 0 583 12642 1, 1978
Grafton, 1988 not shown

1977 DEATH SQUAD –Dell 13659, PBO not shown

UK: WH Allen hc, 1978UK PB as HIT SQUAD – Granada Panther 1979 not shown

< Granada Panther 0-583-13030-5, uniform edition, 1984

CROSS-COUNTRY and THE GANG are both about crazed rampaging gangs of murderers, but the detective chasing them is the same guy in both books. In DEATH SQUAD he takes on a vigilante group of cops, so this is known as the third book in the Detective Sgt. Roersch trilogy.

1979

LADIES OF THE VALLEY – Arbor House hc

1st PB: Dell 14776, 1980. Who did the cover art? One book dealer suggested it was Bob Schinella, but that guy obviously does not know shit from Schinella.

DOLLS OF THE VALLEY might have been a better title for this novel written in the tradition of Jacqueline Susann and Gwen Davis.

The Brits call this DIRTY MOVIES, which is a much more accurate title. For one thing, only one character in this book about Hollywood and Beverly Hills actually lives in the valley, and she’s no lady. Since the book is all about a major studio making a porn movie, DIRTY MOVIES is just right.

UK: as DIRTY MOVIES, WH Allen hc, 1979

UK PB: Granada Mayflower 0 583 13155 7, 1980

Grafton 1989 not shown

And it is a dirty book, about a burned-out New York Jewish writer selling out in Hollywood (I have no idea who Kastle could have based that character on), and a producer who enjoys rape and little boys, and one of the filmmakers moonlights as a serial killer. And all the actresses prostitute themselves for film roles, and it is all way way over the top, totally depraved.