From Here to Eternity uncensored 60 years later

[boxcorner]

From Here to Eternity uncensored 60 years later
bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts
6 April 2011

[kennyc]

Interesting. Thanks!

[Mike L]

I wonder how many other novels of that era were censored for similar reasons.

Perhaps this will be the start of a trend.

[Hellmark]

Personally, I've always hated it when things had to be cut. Hopefully ebooks allow for uncensored versions of more works. Let people see the original vision. Heck, it is popular with movies, why not books too?

[Mike L]

To be accurate about this, the original novel wasn't in fact "censored" - at least, not in the sense of a government or a court forcing parts of the work to be cut. It was the publishers, Scribners, who wanted the changes, presumably not for any legal or moral reason, but because they believed the book would sell better that way.

Of course, the effect was the same as if a government body had ordered the changes. But it's worth keeping in mind that the motives were commercial rather than moralistic. In that sense, it's not all that different from the many other occasions when publishers request (or require) their authors to make changes to their works, which happens every day.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by Mike L

I wonder how many other novels of that era were censored for similar reasons.

Perhaps this will be the start of a trend.

The first print of the War Against the Chtorr was censored for the same sort of reason, that would have been early 80s.

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by Mike L

To be accurate about this, the original novel wasn't in fact "censored" - at least, not in the sense of a government or a court forcing parts of the work to be cut. It was the publishers, Scribners, who wanted the changes, presumably not for any legal or moral reason, but because they believed the book would sell better that way.

Of course, the effect was the same as if a government body had ordered the changes. But it's worth keeping in mind that the motives were commercial rather than moralistic. In that sense, it's not all that different from the many other occasions when publishers request (or require) their authors to make changes to their works, which happens every day.

See, that is why I was commenting on how there should be "uncut" editions. They cut things for fiscal reasons all the time with movies, and later they offer the director's cut. I know people who have multiple copies of movies because they wanted that extra 30 seconds or something silly. It would be easy for publishers to offer ebooks of these, where they wouldn't have to have the extra hype and press of a new release, but make additional money and stir interest in the existing product.

[MaggieScratch]

Originally Posted by Mike L

To be accurate about this, the original novel wasn't in fact "censored" - at least, not in the sense of a government or a court forcing parts of the work to be cut. It was the publishers, Scribners, who wanted the changes, presumably not for any legal or moral reason, but because they believed the book would sell better that way.

Well, actually not. From the article:

"My father fought bitterly to hold on to every four-letter word in the manuscript," his daughter Kaylie told the New York Times.

"The publisher was concerned about getting through the censors."

Emphasis mine. It was indirect censorship. There was a chilling effect created by the existence of censors that caused the publisher to pre-emptively edit the book.

[userburt]

I just got an Entourage Pocket Edge (encouraged by MobileRead!), and (with some difficulty) was able to borrow some ebooks from the library, and saw that From Here to Eternity was available!

Im readn the ebook right now. Its really great, and something I always meant to read. Once in a while Ill compare a racier passage with a hardcover copy I had on hand. I wouldnt say the deletions really hurt the book overall -- sometimes its a flourish sanded down, sometimes more like a detail chiseled away.

Also, makes me want to see the movie again. Considering it was from Hollywood, it really did seem to catch the tone of the book.