Stardust
Stardust is the name of a famous song by Hoagy Carmichael and of a novel by Neil Gaiman.
Stardust' was was composed and first recorded for Gennett Records by Hoagy Carmichael's band in 1927 as a peppey jazz number. Carmichael said he was inspired by the types of improvisations made by Bix Beiderbecke. The tune at first only attracted moderate attention, mostly from fellow musicians, a few of whom (including Don Redman) recorded their own versions of Carmichael's tune.
Carmichael reworked the tune as a slow ballad in 1929, and the same year had lyrics added to it by Mitchell Parish. Carmichael wanted to make a new recording of the tune for Gennett, but the Gennett executives vetoed the idea since they already had Carmichael's earlier recording of the tune in their catalogue. Bandleader Isham Jones, however, recorded Carmichael's new arrangement of Stardust which became the first of many hit records of the tune; by 1932 over 2 dozen other bands had recorded the tune.
Stardust became a standard of the big band era, covered by almost every prominent bandleader and singer of the generation. An arrangement by Glenn Miller was very popular; versions recorded by Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holliday are particularly fine. Some critics have called it the finest love ballad ever written. It is one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century.
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Stardust (1998) is the second solo prose novel by the author Neil Gaiman. It was, however, originally conceived by both author and artist Charles Vess as a "story book with pictures", created by both, and to be published by DC Comics. Initially it was released in 1997 in what is known in the medium of comics as a "prestige" format four issue mini series. This means it came out once a month in a square bound high gloss “comics pamphlet” of sorts with high grade paper, high quality color and no advertisements (cost $5.95 each).
Originally Gaiman and Vess intended it be published in the form it was eventually released in, that is a hardback (ISBN I-56389-431-9 for $24.95) and a trade paper back edition (ISBN I-56389-470-X $15.95) which would better reproduce the beautiful painted illustrations of Vess and be a “story book” for all ages. It is more accurately titled Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess’ Stardust (Being A Romance Within The Realm of Faerie). The hardback edition is quarter-bound in faux leather with the author's names, title and several stars inlaid in foil. It also has reproductions of the comic book covers and many sketches by Vess. The trade paperback has a very different cover design and illustrations by Vess.
Gaiman retains the copyright to the prose and in 1999 decided, encouraged by publisher Avon, to publish Stardust as a conventional novel in hardback without illustrations. There was also a subsequent UK hardcover edition, from Headline. The book also proved popular with readers of the "romance" genre, though it is generally considered part of the fantasy genre. Thus the paperback publication was given three different covers which when placed side by side had one background image and a different primary image including the handsome man holding a woman in a passionate embrace.
Stardust is the book by which many people discover Gaiman, as the second paperback edition was published by Perennial (ISBN 0-06-093471-9) when American Gods began to sell quite well. The illustrated hardback edition, long out of print, is prized by fans and commands quite high prices as a collectible. The illustrated edition of Stardust also seems to be the book that most often interests readers in Gaiman’s comic work.
It is a novel consciously written in the tradition of pre-Tolkien English fantasy, following in the footsteps of authors such as Lord Dunsanay. It is concerned with the adventures and romantic destiny of a young man who is an inhabitant of the village of Wall, and has a very different tone and style to the rest of Gaiman's prose fiction. Gaiman has occasionally made references to writing a sequel, or at least another book concerning the village of Wall.
In 1999, Green Man Press produced a portfolio entitled A Fall of Stardust, which contains (among other things) a chapbook which forms a prologue to Stardust, entitled Wall, A Prologue. (The rest of the portfolio consists of another chapbook, The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse (by Susanna Clarke), and a collection of fantasy art including pieces by the illustrator of Stardust, Charles Vess.