Write Cut Rewrite

The Cutting Room Floor of Modern Literature

Dirk Van Hulle, Mark Nixon

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Hardback

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English

Bodleian Library
01 May 2024

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 Carré, 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.

By: Dirk Van Hulle, Mark Nixon
Imprint: Bodleian Library
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 259mm, Width: 237mm,
ISBN: 9781851246182
ISBN 10: 1851246185
Pages: 200
Publication Date: 01 May 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

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

Dirk Van Hulle is Professor of Bibliography and Modern Book History at the University of Oxford. Mark Nixon is is Professor of Modern Literature and Beckett Studies at the University of Reading.

Reviews for Write Cut Rewrite: The Cutting Room Floor of Modern Literature

‘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.’ -- Philip Hensher * The Spectator *