Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Well, that settles it
I won't be reading Bleak House this week. I was all set to take it home with me last night, and at the end of the day before closing up the shop I was flipping through it idly. It's an old Literary Guild hardcover, has some illustrations, and I was looking at them thinking they were familiar, so I checked the title page, and yes indeed, they are by Edward Gorey. I was so happy - not only were they Gorey, who fits the mood of the book, but the copyright page says that the illustrations are from 1953, which is early on in his career. Most unfortunately, however, as I flipped back to the title page, the following phrase caught my eye: Arranged for Modern Reading. Oh dear. What does this mean? Can it be an abridged version? I'm not sure, but I can only assume that the text has been altered somehow, so I guess this will be a case of the movie before the book, unless I can get my hands on another copy.
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I don't blame you-"arranged for modern
reading" sounds fishy to me. It's a shame since the Gorey illustrations are probaly gorgeous. Good luck with getting an Oxford copy(you might be able to get it directly from Oxford
University Press,they usually sell their sets at a good discount).
reading" sounds fishy to me. It's a shame since the Gorey illustrations are probaly gorgeous. Good luck with getting an Oxford copy(you might be able to get it directly from Oxford
University Press,they usually sell their sets at a good discount).
Thanks - I am resolutely putting "Bleak House" out of my thoughts until Sunday. I am wrapped up in another project, so it's best not to start a new novel this week. Next week, however...
I checked out your blog, by the way, and I notice that one of your favorite books is "Persuasion." Also one of mine, and by far my favorite Austen. I think it's the love-lost-and-regained-after-appropriate-suffering theme, and the incredible characters, particularly the Royal Navy hero - I have an affinity for books about the RN during the Napoleonic Wars...
I checked out your blog, by the way, and I notice that one of your favorite books is "Persuasion." Also one of mine, and by far my favorite Austen. I think it's the love-lost-and-regained-after-appropriate-suffering theme, and the incredible characters, particularly the Royal Navy hero - I have an affinity for books about the RN during the Napoleonic Wars...
I too love Persuasion. It has a gentle, autumnal feeling that sets it apart from Austen's other books. I have lovingly read them all many times.
Yikes, I forget to tape Bleak House! I am canvassing my friends for a tape of the first episode so I will be ready to go on Sunday night. I have read and loved the book, even though I lose patience with Esther occasionally.
Yikes, I forget to tape Bleak House! I am canvassing my friends for a tape of the first episode so I will be ready to go on Sunday night. I have read and loved the book, even though I lose patience with Esther occasionally.
# posted by 
: 7:57 PM
: 7:57 PM
Thanks for checking out my blog:) Persuasion was the first Jane Austen book I ever read and it's still my favorite amongst her works. Mansfield Park runs a close second(again,the Navy!). I did pick up a set of Patrick O'Brian's books last year(loved the Master and Commander film) but still haven't gotten beyond the first half of book one...
Oh,would you mind if I put a link to your blog at mine?
Oh,would you mind if I put a link to your blog at mine?
Please, feel free to link to my blog...
The second book in the Patrick O'Brian series is the most Austen-esque. I read somewhere that he wrote it in part as an homage to her.
The second book in the Patrick O'Brian series is the most Austen-esque. I read somewhere that he wrote it in part as an homage to her.
Yes, the "arranged for modern reading" edition of Bleak House is in fact abridged. Very selectively, it would seem, as it still weighs in at 595 pages. I just learned this after reading it, and I feel gypped. Among the expurgated material is the betrayal of Jo by Skimpole and the latter's final interview with Esther. It seems the Literary Guild did not the public to read unflattering things about Mr. Skimpole.
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# posted by : 8:50 PM
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