Imagine looking over the shoulder of your favourite author and witnessing the moment they begin writing the opening chapter of their best-loved novel. What you might see is that the author has to write, cut and rewrite their words, often many times, in order to find the right form. Unearthing what has been jettisoned, moved or edited can give us valuable insights into the creative process.
Editorial decisions are documented in an extraordinary number of literary manuscripts, notebooks and letters preserved in libraries and archives. What would Frankenstein have looked like if Mary and Percy Shelley had not collaborated on the draft? Would we view The Wind in the Willows differently if its title had remained 'The Mole & the Water Rat'? This highly illustrated book invites you to explore these roads-not-taken and discover ideas which did not make it into renowned novels, poems and plays.
With insights into the drafting techniques of writers as varied as Jane Austen, Christina Rossetti, Raymond Chandler, Samuel Beckett, Franz Kafka, John le Carre, Alan Bennett, Barbara Pym, Philip Pullman and Alice Oswald, this is a fascinating unveiling of the mysteries of writing, cutting, rewriting and publishing exceptional creative works.
Table of Contents:
FOREWORD by RICHARD OVENDEN vi
INTRODUCTION ‘KILL YOUR DARLINGS’ 1
1 AUTHORS’ CUTS 5
2 REVISING 29
3 VESTIGIAL NOTES 49
4 REPLACEMENTS & LATE SUBSTITUTES 59
5 LESS IS MORE 79
6 CENSORSHIP & SELF-CENSORSHIP 103
7 DIFFICULT BEGINNINGS, ALTERNATIVE ENDINGS 117
8 EDITORS’ & OTHERS’ CUTS 135
9 REPURPOSING 149
10 CUTS IN BORN-DIGITAL WORKS 165
CONCLUSION THE CUTTING‑ROOM FLOOR 176
AFTERWORD by ALICE OSWALD 178
NOTES 180
FURTHER READING 186
IMAGE CREDITS 187
INDEX 188
About the Author :
Dirk van Hulle is Professor of Bibliography and Modern Book History at the University of Oxford.
Mark Nixon is Co-Director of the Beckett International Foundation and Associate Professor in Modern Literature at the University of Reading.
Review :
‘plenty of fun here, with well-illustrated examples from John le Carré, Mary Shelley, Kenneth Grahame (awful handwriting), Franz Kafka and Ludwig Wittgenstein among many others.’
'This beautifully illustrated volume has relevance to several different curriculum areas, containing as it does accounts of intrepid historical journeys that range from 16th century seafaring voyages to Arctic crossings and even the surveys undertaken to facilitate the moon landings. There’s certainly some rich material here for maths, geography, English, science and history practitioners alike.'
'This fascinating book, which draws largely on manuscripts held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, illustrates the sometimes tortuous paths taken by leading authors to produce works that in their published version are venerated as literary classics.'
