Paula Reed's Blog - Posts Tagged "pride-and-prejudice"
New Takes on Classic Novels
When I sold Hester to St. Martin’s Press back in October of 2008, a release date of winter 2010 seemed unimaginably far away. For the longest time, friends and colleagues would say, “What’s up with the book?” and I’d say, “Well, they’re still planning an early 2010 publication date,” which was not a satisfying answer for any of us.
Now, as advanced readers’ copies of Hester have gone out for review, it hardly seems that more than a year has gone by. The actual release date in bookstores is February 16. Since I sold the book, I have taught its predecessor, The Scarlet Letter, to two years’ worth of high school sophomores (not to mention the countless students I’d taught it to in the previous 20 plus years). I’ve shared the journey, showing them the various versions of Hester’s cover as it evolved, and listened with a new appreciation to their speculations concerning all that Hawthorne’s novel does not tell about its four major characters.
I’ve read a number of threads on blogs and here at Goodreads about books that are written as continuations of classics—from the many incarnations of Mr. Darcy to Dracula’s latest rise from the grave. Some people are excited to read more about characters they loved and weren’t ready to let go of when the original book ended. Others are horrified at blasphemies being committed against such venerated works.
In the end, each new book will have to speak for itself. The plays of Sophocles and Euripides were based upon the myths they grew up with, and Shakespeare’s plays often had predecessors in literature and history. At the same time, some books based upon classics have proven bitter disappointments to readers who loved their sources. All I can do is assure you that I approached Hester with the reverence any passionate English teacher has for The Scarlet Letter. I felt that Nathaniel Hawthorne was looking over my shoulder at every word I wrote. Sometimes, I sensed a nod of approval. Other times, I was pretty sure he was frustrated that his intangibility prevented him from wringing my neck. It is my deepest hope, though, that by the time I bring Hester Prynne back to the shores of New England and the events of Hawthorne’s own novel, both he and my readers feel the journey was worth taking.
Now, as advanced readers’ copies of Hester have gone out for review, it hardly seems that more than a year has gone by. The actual release date in bookstores is February 16. Since I sold the book, I have taught its predecessor, The Scarlet Letter, to two years’ worth of high school sophomores (not to mention the countless students I’d taught it to in the previous 20 plus years). I’ve shared the journey, showing them the various versions of Hester’s cover as it evolved, and listened with a new appreciation to their speculations concerning all that Hawthorne’s novel does not tell about its four major characters.
I’ve read a number of threads on blogs and here at Goodreads about books that are written as continuations of classics—from the many incarnations of Mr. Darcy to Dracula’s latest rise from the grave. Some people are excited to read more about characters they loved and weren’t ready to let go of when the original book ended. Others are horrified at blasphemies being committed against such venerated works.
In the end, each new book will have to speak for itself. The plays of Sophocles and Euripides were based upon the myths they grew up with, and Shakespeare’s plays often had predecessors in literature and history. At the same time, some books based upon classics have proven bitter disappointments to readers who loved their sources. All I can do is assure you that I approached Hester with the reverence any passionate English teacher has for The Scarlet Letter. I felt that Nathaniel Hawthorne was looking over my shoulder at every word I wrote. Sometimes, I sensed a nod of approval. Other times, I was pretty sure he was frustrated that his intangibility prevented him from wringing my neck. It is my deepest hope, though, that by the time I bring Hester Prynne back to the shores of New England and the events of Hawthorne’s own novel, both he and my readers feel the journey was worth taking.
