I came across an article in The Huffington Post about classic books and their original titles. Most of them are SO different from the true title of the work.
Here is a brief list, but be sure to check out the article for more books:
Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice was originally titled First Impressions.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was originally Trimalchio in West Egg.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell was first titled Mules in Horses’ Harness and also Tomorrow Is Another Day; Not in Our Stars; Tote the Weary Load; or Bugles Sang True.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was originally titled Atticus.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series was titled The War of the Ring.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding was originally Strangers From Within.
And John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was originally titled Something That Happened.
Personally, I like the simple title Atticus better than To Kill a Mockingbird, though I suppose it doesn’t embody the entire story very well.
And I don’t think John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is well-titled, but it seems to have worked for him. 🙂
What do you think of these titles or the others on the Huffington Post article? Do you like the final titles the best?
How did you come up with your book’s title?
And if you are published, is your published book title the original title or did it change?
Homework for Life: Never Fear Running Out of Stories Again!
If there is one thing I hate
(even though I know it’s vital),
it’s gifting a book with its fate
by the wrong choice of its title.
80,000 words of labour
suddenly come down to this,
an effort to find public favour
with what amounts to First Kiss
in a cheesy high-school romance,
that moment of osculation
like a book awaiting chance
at a browser’s hesitation
on whether the title’s scoring,
or like MY kisses is quite boring.
“Something That Happened” made me laugh. Since I guess it hasn’t been taken, I may need to use that LOL! But I do like “Of Mice and Men.” I automatically say the rest when I read it . . . often go astray . . . and I think that goes well with the story. For myself, I’m thus far indie published so the titles are all on me for better or worse. But I do like to pull from Scripture when I can.
I like The War of the Ring! The others just don’t do it for me, ha!
My devotional gift book was titled As Grandmother Used to Say before marketing at HH decided that sounded too much like grandmother was dead (which she is) and changed it to As Grandma Says. I like the rhythm of the original better, but my friend sais “Is is more important to keep the title or to get the message out?”
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I suppose the publishers know what they’re doing… It’s sort of curious what the title reflects from the book. Anymore, the book itself will bring the title forward which suits it best, at least that’s the theory. It’s so fun to see what happens in the publication journey!