10 famous books that could have very different titles

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

It is hard to imagine that world famous works could be called completely differently. However, the difficulties of coming up with a title can only be understood by those who have at least once tried to title a book, article, or even a small essay. Many writers, working on their creation, already managed to somehow title it, but after painful thoughts, advice from a loved one, or at the insistence of the editor of the publishing house, the name changed.

Leo Tolstoy, "War and Peace"

In the original version, the writer intended it to be titled "Three Pores", and the first excerpts were published under this title. Later appeared "1805", and some time later, the same work began to be called "All is well that ends well." However, even this light title did not satisfy Lev Nikolaevich, since it did not reflect the essence of the novel. As you know, the final laconic name turned out to be the most successful.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, "Crime and Punishment"

Today it is difficult to imagine that the world-famous work of Fyodor Mikhailovich was conceived as the novel "The Drunken". But in the process of work, the writer has thoroughly expanded the original idea. The result is a very serious work, with a study of the causes of human actions and reasoning about the moral foundations of the individual. Naturally, along with the work, its name also changed.

Mikhail Lermontov, "A Hero of Our Time"

The lyric-psychological novel, the protagonist of which was Grigory Pechorin, was supposed to be published under the title One of the Heroes of Our Century, but the editor of the Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine, after a detailed study of the work, suggested that Mikhail Yuryevich titled the novel a little differently. It was Andrei Kraevsky who came up with a new title, which very accurately reflected the nature of the book.

Mikhail Bulgakov, "The Master and Margarita"

Perhaps even the author himself could not imagine how painful his attempts would be to give a bright and accurate name to one of his best works. Mikhail Afanasevich chose from a variety of options: "Engineer's Hoof" and "Tour", "Black Magician" and "Juggler with a Hoof", "V.'s Son" and even "Satan". But as the heroes of the book had their own names and traits of character were clearly drawn, it became clear that the whole story should be named after the names of the main characters.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, "Matryonin Dvor"

One of the most famous stories of the dissident writer was originally titled "A village is not worth it without a righteous man." But the editor, who turned out to be Alexander Tvardovsky, intervened in the case, as in the case of Lermontov's "Hero of Our Time". During a discussion in the editorial office of Novy Mir, Tvardovsky suggested changing the name. It seemed to the author himself and the entire editorial board more successful.

Vladimir Nabokov, "Lolita"

Vladimir Nabokov planned to name his very controversial, but today world-famous work "Kingdom by the Sea", borrowing it from Edgar Poe's poem "Annabelle-Lee". However, by the time the work on the novel was completed, the writer decided that Lolita would more fully reflect the idea of the work.

George Orwell, 1984

If not for the intervention of publisher Frederick Warburg, Orwell's dystopian novel might not have become so famous and popular. Warburg insisted on changing the title "The Last Man in Europe", rightly believing that the discerning reader would hardly want to purchase such a book. As a result, the novel "1984" was published.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

The author hesitated for a very long time and chose the name for his truly immortal work from a variety of options. The final name of the novel was given by the writer's wife, Fitzgerald's publisher agreed with her, and the author himself thought and chose for almost four months: "The Feast of Trimalchion" or "Around the garbage and millionaires", "Under the Red, White, Blue" or "Furious lover", " On the Road to West Egg or Gatsby - Golden Hat? And even when the book was already signed to print, Fitzgerald tried to convince the publisher to title the novel "The Feast of Trimalchio." Fortunately, the publisher flatly refused to change anything.

Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

Initially, the writer called his saga short and succinctly: "Home". However, just a few years before Gabriel García Márquez began work on his best book, a work by his friend Alvaro Samudio, The Big House, was published. Rightly judging that the reader might have an analogy with this book, Marquez changed the title of the novel to One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

The English writer, while working on the novel, shared her thoughts about the future book with her sister Cassandra. From the correspondence it became known that the novel was supposed to be called "First Impressions". By the time the work was finished, the writer was only 21 years old, and the publishers refused to publish the novel by an unknown and young author. However, Jane Austen did not abandon the thought of publishing the book and 15 years later revised the original text, achieving an amazing ease of narration. The name also had to be changed, since a book by another author, First Impressions, had already been published in England.

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