In the past editors often arbitrarily cut "erotic" passages from novel manuscripts, even if the author's contract specified that his book was to be published verbatim from his manuscript. This happened to Wilkie Collins, whose The Law and the Lady (1875) was so bowdlerized. The edited version of the passage in question read: "He caught my hand in his and covered it with kisses. In the indignation of the moment I cried out for help." The "objectionable" original version read: "He caught my hand in his and covered it with kisses. He twisted himself suddenly in the chair, and wound his arm around my waist. In the terror and indignation of the moment, seriously struggling with him, I cried out for help."
- Taken from The Literary Life and Other Curiosities by Robert Hendrickson
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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