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Not very according to this little publicity stunt. Apparently, the Jane Austen Festival submitted three book proposals based on Jane Austen’s books, including sample chapters that were remarkably similar to the original manuscripts–even going so far as to state verbatim the first sentence of Pride and Prejudice:
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
You can read the entire story Austin scam exposes publisher’s pride and prejudice.
Tip of the hat to David Zimmerman at IVP’s Behind the Books for posting on this. (But it breaks my heart to see Dave’s completely reasonable explanation for why Jane Austen would never be successful today. Sigh.)
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{ 7 comments }
It shows the power of context, doesn’t it? And that in itself is an interesting topic to consider.
L.L., you are the master of the two sentence comment. Awesome.
Well, that’s always the situation with classics, isn’t it? You have to go back into their worldview to enjoy them. And that’s fun, but probably not something I want to do with everything I read. Our best stuff will one day be classic, and it probably won’t fit either.
Rather than defend the acq. editors, I would hope that they and anyone in a position of critic or evaluator would be sobered and humbled.
LL’s point is also spot on…context – historical, cultural, circumstantial all matter in our evaluation.
The thing about a classic is that it speaks to people in many different contexts, though. Right? Why is that so hard to market, though?
Probably because it used to speak to so many people, but no longer does.
Why?
I think because
a)many no longer read them
b)the language is difficult for many to wade through and
c)there are so many new books out there that are enticing all of us.
Just a thought, of course.
So, Eve, are you suggesting that “classics” only sell well because the educational system has functioned as a marketing vehicle to force students to buy books they never read? : )
I actually like some of them. Pride and Prejudice, for instance.
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