In either case, the cover, drawn by Max Schindler, is a nice attempt at mimicking the illustrated boards of books from the era of the novel's setting, 1887.
The original
..and the new paperback...
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Chucking Out the Whores
This is an unusual case. Usually when a book goes from hardback to paperback, it gets a new cover. In this case, though, the book keeps almost the same cover, but gets a new title--presumably Penguin were told that the original, 'Whore'-containing title was putting people (women?) off. (UPDATE: Author Neil Ansell explains that "I met the author when we appeared at the same literary festival, and she explained that the reason for the name change was because the chain WH Smith was refusing to stock the book with that title.")
In either case, the cover, drawn by Max Schindler, is a nice attempt at mimicking the illustrated boards of books from the era of the novel's setting, 1887.
The originalhardback trade paperback...
..and the new paperback...
In either case, the cover, drawn by Max Schindler, is a nice attempt at mimicking the illustrated boards of books from the era of the novel's setting, 1887.
The original
..and the new paperback...
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7 comments:
Presumably 'The Sex Workers' Asylum' wasn't thought to have the same ring.
Both titles are nice, as are both covers - though the quote does spoil things a bit, doesn't it?
I'm reminded of two Canadian books with which the opposite occurred: Earle Birney's The Damnation of Vancouver and Sarah Bastard's Notebook by Marian Engel. Both were published first by Ryerson Press - owned by the United Church - respectively as Trial of a City and No Clouds of Glory. Only later, with the paperback editions - from different publishers - did they appear under their true titles.
The bland, yet somewhat distinguished Trial of a City aside, they're just about the ugliest books you'd ever want to see. Of course, the true CanLit collector has to have them all.
I met the author when we appeared at the same literary festival, and she explained that the reason for the name change was because the chain WH Smith was refusing to stock the book with that title.
Neil, amazing to think that this would be the case in 2012, but may explain why Nelly Arcan's award-winning bestseller Putain, translated as Whore, has been all but ignored by the English-speaking world.
Neil, thank you for that--I'll add the info to the post.
Brian: I had to order Arcan's book from Canada, with surprising difficulty--no bookshops here could even get hold of it. Did the Ryerson Press editions change the content as well as the titles?
James, not at all surprised that you had a time buying Whore (sorry, that doesn't sound good) - I've yet to come across a copy in a Canadian bookstore.
Titles aside, I haven't noticed any differences between No Clouds of Glory and Sarah Bastard's Notebook. I have to go by memory with the Birneys (in the attic, you'll understand). I believe the difference is that The Damnation of Vancouver features only the title verse-play, while Trial of a City contains the (retitled) verse-play and "other verse".
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