Quote:
Originally Posted by salty-horse
But is there confirmation it's a different text?
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Reading this
https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/serve...387f54/content suggests there are textual differences between the 2 editions. Based on the pagination of the 2 editions, it's most likely to be editorial differences between the two markets rather than an abridgement per se. Also, remember differences in font and layout will also cause length to change.
I do own both the US and UK editions of The Day of the Triffids, and the differences are significant between the two editions there (the US edition is 12% shorter according to the SF Encyclopedia). I can't say if this is the same with The Midwich Cuckoos; I've only ever owned and read a UK edition (Wyndham was one of the few SF authors my local branch library held, and I read the hardback editions in my teens).
Checking here
https://www.readinglength.com/book/isbn-0141033010 vs
https://www.readinglength.com/book/isbn-0718102363 suggest the US edition was longer, but that is comparing a current Penguin edition to what looks like the Ballantine hardcover edition. However, checking the word count of my Penguin edition in Calibre has 66K words vs the 56K words suggested by readinglength.com, so your guess is as good as mine. I really couldn't say for sure.
According to Kobo, the US Modern Library version is 253 pages/68K words, and the UK Penguin edition is 249 pages/67K words. It's likely there is additional advertorial material in the US edition; my version doesn't have any of that.