When Steinbeck was stumped for a title for his novel, his wife saved the day. Literary history is full of marital interventions, but what's your favourite example of writers wedded to their inspiration?
What's in a name? … The Grapes of Wrath. Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/
The 75th anniversary of the publication of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath on Monday April 14 is a reminder of the potentially key role of literary spouses. Steinbeck didn't like his own ideas for the title, so when his wife Carol proposed a phrase from "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" he adopted it at once.
This set us thinking about the impact of other partners on the history of literature. As the following examples show, though usually either dismissed as humble helpmeets or complained about as posthumous image-protectors, they can sometimes decisively shape a book or career.
Gone with the Wind (1936)
Required to lug library books home daily for Margaret Mitchell as she recovered from injury, her copy editor husband John bought her the Remington typewriter on which she bashed out her first published novel. Sales to date: more than 30m.
Brighton Rock (1938)
Now invariably labelled a "Catholic novelist" Graham Greene converted to share his wife Vivien's faith before their marriage in 1927.
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This set us thinking about the impact of other partners on the history of literature. As the following examples show, though usually either dismissed as humble helpmeets or complained about as posthumous image-protectors, they can sometimes decisively shape a book or career.
Gone with the Wind (1936)
Required to lug library books home daily for Margaret Mitchell as she recovered from injury, her copy editor husband John bought her the Remington typewriter on which she bashed out her first published novel. Sales to date: more than 30m.
Brighton Rock (1938)
Now invariably labelled a "Catholic novelist" Graham Greene converted to share his wife Vivien's faith before their marriage in 1927.
More
1 comment:
Walt Disney at first called his famous cartoon mouse Mortimer.
But his wife, Lillian, strongly objected. Her alternative: Mickey.
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