‘The Cairene Purse’

Moorcock’s enduring love for North Africa has never been better nor more poignantly encapsulated than in this novella.

First appearance: Zenith 2: The Best in New British Science Fiction
London: Sphere, 1990 (July) mass-sized paperback;
edited (+ notes) by David S. Garnett;
original price: £3·99;
320 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 0-7474-0591-3;
cover artist: Peter Gudynas;
introduction by Garnett.

First anthologised appearance: The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Eighth Annual Collection
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991 (July) hardcover & simultaneous trade-sized paperback;
edited (+ notes) by Gardner Dozois;
original prices: $27·95 (h/c) & $15·95 (p/b);
xxxii + 624 pages;
I.S.B.N.s: 0-312-06008-4 (h/c) & 0-312-06009-2 (p/b);
cover artist: Michael Whelan.

**First British edition, as ***Best New SF 5***;**
**London:** Robinson, 1991 (August) trade-p/b;
price: **£7·99**;
*xxxii* + 624 pages;
**I.S.B.N.: 1-85487-091-2;**
**cover artist: Ian Craig;**
**‘The Cairene Purse’: pp. 253–306.**

**abridged,** **as ***Supernovae***;**
Interno Giallo/Mondadori, 1993 (October) h/c;
price: **35,000 lire**;
I.S.B.N.: **88-04-37768-2**;
cover artist: **F.G. Confalonieri;**
**‘The Cairene Purse’**: pp. 469–524.

**Also — unseen (unverified) —** as To Nejlepší Ze
Science Fiction;
**Czech Republic:** **Studio Dobré Nálady**, 1993 h/c;
price: **unknown**;
630 pages;
**I.S.B.N.: 80-7171-025-3.**

**further abridged,** as ***Millemondi Inverno 1996***;
Mondadori, 1996 (November) trade-p/b;
price: **9,000 lire**;
I.S.B.N.: **none**;
cover artist: **Giuseppe Festino;**
**‘The Cairene Purse’**: pp. 191–251.

First collected appearance: Lunching With The Anitchrist
Shingletown, CA: Mark V. Ziesing, 1995 (February) simultaneous standard & limited-edition hardcovers (q.v.);
sub-titled “A Family History: 1925-2015” on title pages;
original prices: $25·00 (std.), $60·00 (“limited to 300 [plain black] slip-cased, signed and numbered copies”);
216 pages;
I.S.B.N.s: 0-929480-46-5 (std.) & 0-929480-47-3 (ltd.);
cover artist: Phil Hale.

**‘The Cairene Purse’**: pp. 119–193;
**revised so as to enable it to feature members of the Family von Bek.**

Other appearances:-

*London Bone*
London: Scribner, 2001 (May 8th) trade-sized paperback (*q.v.*);
**original price: £10·00;**
**247 pages;**
**I.S.B.N.: 0-684-86142-9;**
**cover artist: blacksheep;**
**‘The Cairene Purse’ (revised text): pp. 137–224.**

*The Best Of Michael Moorcock*
San Francisco: Tachyon, 2009 (May 15th) trade-sized paperback (*q.v.*);
edited by John Davey with Ann & Jeff VanderMeer;
original price: $14·95;
403 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-1-892391-86-5;
cover artist: Ann Monn;
interior design: John Coulthart;
introduction (+ notes) by John Davey;
afterword by Ann & Jeff VanderMeer;
‘The Cairene Purse’ (restored [original] **text): pp. 329–387**
(see also *The Very Best Of Michael Moorcock*).

*London Bone* *And Other Stories*
London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2016 (June 30th) trade-sized paperback (*q.v.*);
**edited by John Davey;**
**original price: £9·99;**
**344 pages;**
**I.S.B.N.: 978-1-473-21329-6;**
**cover artist: Paul Catherall;**
**illustrated by Michael Moorcock;**
**‘The Cairene Purse’ (original text): pp. 245–320.**

***My Experiences In The Third World War And Other Stories***
London: Gollancz, 2014 (October 23rd) trade-sized paperback (*q.v.*);
sub-titled “The Best Short Fiction of Michael Moorcock Volume 1” on title page;
edited by John Davey;
original price: £8·99;
**xxii + 307 pages;**
**I.S.B.N.: 978-0-575-11505-7;**
**cover artist: Michael Heslop;**
**‘The Cairene Purse’ (original text): pp. 229–305**.

Other foreign (i.e. non-English language) edition:-

Lunching With The Antichrist as Déjeuners D’Affaires Avec L’Antéchrist, France (2003).