I, libertine

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The book I, Libertine (English) is a literary hoax ( hoax ) that was started in April 1955 by the American author and radio presenter Jean Parker Shepherd and led to the real publication of an originally fictional book.

History of origin

A special feature of the bestseller lists in the USA in the 1950s was that not only real sales figures, but also ascertained demand determined the placement of a book. In April 1955, when Shepherd asked about a particular book at a bookstore on Fifth Avenue in New York , he was taught that it could not exist because it was not on the publisher's lists. He then decided to publicly expose the ridiculousness of this view. With the help of the regular listeners of his popular nightly radio show "The Night People", he came up with a fictional book entitled "I, Libertine". This was supposed to be a novel depicting amorous adventures and courtly intrigues in 18th-century London . The alleged author is a "Frederick R. Ewing," a graduate of the University of Oxford , retired Royal Navy officer, and "known for his series on eighteenth-century erotica on the BBC ." Shepherd urged his listeners to look into the coming Days to ask for this book in as many bookstores as possible and reserve it as an order. This request met with a great response nationwide, with the bookstore on Fifth Avenue alone receiving 27 orders. The fictional book soon appeared on the publisher's list and, in early 1956, on the New York Times bestseller list .

The hoax that Shepherd put into circulation continued to spread, orders were placed even in Europe and reports of people who allegedly wanted to read the novel appeared. Soon other legends arose around the novel: a student who treated it in a literary study is said to have been praised by his professor for his "thorough research". A church in Boston put the book on the index .

In early 1956, the publisher Ian Ballantine ( Ballantine Books ) tried to track down the alleged "Frederick R. Ewing" in order to acquire the publishing rights to the novel. Through this, and through research by the Wall Street Journal , the hoax was eventually exposed. Because of the high demand, Ballantine, Shepherd, and science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon decided to actually write and publish the book. Shepherd, Sturgeon and Ballantine's wife Betty wrote it together under the pseudonym "Frederick R. Ewing". It comprised 192 pages (other information: 151) and was marketed by Ballantine Books with a circulation of 130,000 copies. The cover picture was designed by Frank Kelly Freas and contains some hidden allusions to the real authors. Thus, where the background is a restaurant called "Fish And Staff" to see whose label contains a crook and a fish (shepherd's crook, dt as a reference to Shepherd. Shepherd , fish, dt as a reference to Sturgeon. Sturgeon ). On a carriage door at the edge of the picture is the word “Excelsior”, a frequent exclamation from Shepherd, with which he often ended his programs. The back of the book contains the author's fictional biography. The photo of the alleged Ewing is actually a heavily alienated shot of Shepherd.

reception

The book, which can be assigned to trivial literature , was rated differently by the critics, but the entire edition was sold, making the book again and now a real bestseller. Well-preserved antiquarian specimens are now available for several hundred euros . Donald Fagen said he had a copy of the book.

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BALLANTINE BOOKS MAKES HOAX COME TRUE. The Wall Street Journal , August 1, 1956, archived from the original April 27, 2002 ; accessed on March 21, 2016 (English).
  2. ^ A b Archie D'Cruz: What Is the Biggest Media Hoax in History? The New York Observer , August 3, 2015, accessed March 21, 2016 .
  3. ^ Tania Grossinger: Jean Shepherd, A Man of Many Personas. Huffington Post , December 9, 2013, accessed December 1, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Donald Fagen: The Man Who Told A Christmas Story. In: Slate . December 2008, accessed November 30, 2017 .