I, Libertine
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I, Libertine was one of the all-time great literary hoaxes. It began as a practical joke by late-night radio raconteur Jean Shepherd. Shepherd was highly annoyed at the way that the bestseller lists were being compiled in the mid-1950s. These lists were not determined solely on book sale figures but also on requests for new books at bookstores.
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[edit] Creation of the hoax
Shepherd urged his listeners to enter bookstores and ask for a book that did not exist. He fabricated the author (Frederick R. Ewing) of this imaginary novel, concocted a title (I, Libertine), and outlined a basic plot for his listeners to use on skeptical or confused bookstore clerks. Shepherd eventually proved his point that the process of choosing bestsellers was flawed.
[edit] Publication
Bookstores became interested in carrying Ewing's novel, which reportedly had been banned in Boston. When publisher Ian Ballantine, novelist Theodore Sturgeon and Shepherd met for lunch, Ballantine hired Sturgeon to write a novel based on Shepherd's outline. Betty Ballantine completed the final chapter after an exhausted Sturgeon fell asleep on the Ballantines' couch, having attempted to meet the deadline in one marathon typing session. On September 13, 1956, Ballantine Books published I, Libertine simultaneously in hardcover and paperback editions with Shepherd seen as Ewing in the back cover photograph.
[edit] Kelly Freas cover
The front cover displays a quote: "Gadzooks, quoth I, but here's a saucy bawd!". The cover painting by Kelly Freas includes hidden images and inside jokes: The sign on the tavern, Fish & Staff, has a shepherd's staff, referencing both Sturgeon and Shepherd. A tiny portion of the word often spoken on the air by Shepherd---"Excelsior!"---can be seen in a triangular area at extreme left, and the exclamation is also hidden in the ruffles on the dress worn by the woman on the right side of the painting.
[edit] Back cover blurb
Here is the text describing Ewing and the novel's storyline as it appears on the back cover:
- About the author
- I, Libertine, first volume in a projected trilogy, is the initial major work of F. R. Ewing. Mr. Ewing, an Oxford graduate, was known prior to World War II for his many scholarly contributions to British publication and for his well-remembered series of broadcasts for the BBC on "Erotica of the 18th Century". During the war Mr. Ewing served with the Royal Navy and was retired in 1948 with the rank of Commander. He saw much action with the North Atlantic Fleet, serving aboard several minesweepers. He resumed his career as a civil servant, and while stationed in Rhodesia, Ewing completed work on I, Libertine.
- About the book
- Against the rich mosaic of 18th Century London court life is etched the meteoric rise of Lance Courtenay—moral adventurer, first of his breed. To the three women in his life he was three different men and to the world at large... an enigma. The seldom-discussed delicate theme and final startling decision of Lance Courtenay have already given rise to great moral controversy. But each reader must draw his own conclusions. Greeted by unprecedented acclaim by the English press, I, Libertine is a novel which American readers will no doubt agree is destined to leave its mark in English letters.
A few weeks after publication, The Wall Street Journal officially exposed the hoax, already an open secret.
