Elric of Melniboné — proud prince of ruins, kinslayer — call him what you will. He remains, together with maybe Jerry Cornelius, Moorcock’s most enduring, if not always most endearing, character…
The first appearance of ‘And So The Great Emperor Received His Education…’ was as an exclusive but untitled spoken-word introduction — specially written & read by Moorcock — for the first ever audiobook of the novel Elric Of Melniboné. It was later collected in textual form, with its title taken from the original recording’s opening sentence.
Chapel Hill, N.C.: AudioRealms (C.D.) audiobook, 2003;
original price: $29·95;
I.S.B.N.: 0-9731596-0-X;
6 C.D.s (5 black + 1 red [interactive] bonus disc);
narrated by Jeffrey West;
cover artist: Dalmazio Frau.
AudioRealms (5-C.D.) audiobook, 2006;
original price: $29·95;
I.S.B.N.: 978-0-9731596-0-8.
First textual appearance: Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress
New York: Del Rey, 2008 (November 25th) trade-sized paperback (q.v.);
sub-titled “Chronicles Of The Last Emperor Of Melniboné Volume 3”;
original price: $14·00;
xxiii + 349 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-0-345-49864-9;
cover artist: John Picacio;
illustrated by Steve Ellis;
foreword by Holly Black.
Other (textual)appearances:-
London: Gollancz, 2013 (May 23rd) trade-sized paperback (q.v.);
edited by John Davey;
original price: £8·99;
xxiv + 360 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-0-575-11309-1;
cover artist: Michael Whelan;
illustrated by James Cawthorn;
foreword by Alan Moore;
‘And So The Great Emperor Received His Education…’: pp. 169–173.
Lakewood, CO: Centipede Press, 2019 (January 17th) hardcover (q.v.);
dated “2018” on copyright page;
a limited edition of “300 [numbered] signed copies for sale, plus extras for contributors, and a special deluxe edition” (q.v.);
edited by John Davey;
original price: $150·00;
215 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-1-61347-216-3;
cover artist: Piotr Jabłoński (also interior);
introduction by Holly Black (pp. 7 & 8);
signed by Moorcock, Jabłoński & Black;
includes additional short fiction: ‘Master Of Chaos’ (pp. 11–27 [11–24 in deluxe ed.]) & ‘And So The Great Emperor Received His Education…’ (pp. 29–33 [25–29]).
Foreign (i.e. non-English language) editions:-
Elric: The Sleeping Sorceress as Elric: Uyuyan Büyücü, Turkey (2016).
Elric Of Melniboné And Other Stories as Elric: Der Blutthron, Germany (2016).
Also in Элрик Из Мелнибонэ, Russia (2017).
Moorcography.org 