Write Cut Rewrite: The Cutting Room Floor of Modern Literature

Literary manuscripts, notebooks, and letters preserved in libraries and archives provide insights into the creative process of writing, cutting, rewriting, and publishing exceptional creative works. This highly illustrated book explores these roads not taken and reveals ideas that did not make it into renowned novels, poems, and plays, including those of Jane Austen, Christina Rossetti, Raymond Chandler, Samuel Beckett, Franz Kafka, John le Carré, Alan Bennett, Barbara Pym, Philip Pullman, and Alice Oswald.

Format: Hardback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 29 February 2024
Publisher: Bodleian Library

Imagine peering over the shoulder of your favorite author as they embark on the captivating journey of crafting the opening chapter of their beloved novel. What you might witness is a painstaking process of writing, cutting, and rewriting, often repeated numerous times, until the author finally finds the perfect form for their story. By delving into what has been discarded, moved, or edited, we gain invaluable insights into the creative process itself. It is remarkable to note that editorial decisions are meticulously documented in a vast array of literary manuscripts, notebooks, and letters preserved in libraries and archives. What would have transpired if Mary and Percy Shelley had not collaborated on the draft of Frankenstein? How might our perception of The Wind in the Willows differ if its original title had remained as "The Mole and the Water Rat"?

This captivating book invites you to embark on a journey of exploration, venturing down roads that were never taken. Within its pages, you will discover fascinating ideas that never made it into renowned novels, poems, and plays. Gain insights into the drafting techniques of writers as diverse as Jane Austen, Christina Rossetti, Raymond Chandler, Samuel Beckett, Franz Kafka, John le Carré, Alan Bennett, Barbara Pym, Philip Pullman, and Alice Oswald. This is an extraordinary unveiling of the mysteries of writing, cutting, rewriting, and publishing exceptional creative works, offering a glimpse into the minds and processes of these renowned authors.

Weight: 1236g
Dimension: 266 x 246 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781851246182