What book (that ended up selling over 100,000 copies in the first three weeks of its mainstream release) was originally picked up by a company that mostly published pornographic titles? What enormously successful novelist worked as a grave digger, gas station worker, English teacher, and laundry mat attendant before his first novel was accepted for publication? And, just who IS Pansy O'Hara?
If you want the answers to these questions and many others, here's the book for you. If you've ever wondered how some of your favorite books ended up getting published, here's the book for you. If you like little-known facts about well-known novels, here's the book for you.
Who the H*** is Pansy O'Hara? takes 50 of what the authors call the "world's best-loved books" and gives you the back story. They dish on Charlotte Bronte's unrequited love, on Emily Post's divorce (gasp), and on the World War II intelligence work of Ian Fleming.
The authors include both classic and modern fiction from Pride and Prejudice to The Da Vinci Code as well as nonfiction works like The Origin of Species and even Encyclopedia Britannica. It's a fun read for bibliophiles and for people who wonder how and where classic novels come from. And even though some of the stories are a bit sensational and the title sounds a little flip, the scholarship of these authors is serious and their writing is top notch.
By the way, here's the answers: Lolita was too hot for American publishers until Olympia Press out of Paris put out a modest 5,000 copies. Stephen King worked a variety of jobs until Carrie was accepted by Doubleday for $2500. Margaret Mitchell originally named her fiery Gone With the Wind heroine Pansy, but after multiple revisions, decided Scarlett was a more fitting name. Happy reading.
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