First Impressions - January 2018

Rare Book Trivia

1) Although primarily a novelist, Ernest Hemingway's second non-fiction book, Green Hills of Africa, is about what sport?

2) Marjorie Kinnan Rawling's The Yearling (1938) and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) tell coming-of-age stories that focus on a protagonist's emotional or spiritual journey from childhood to adulthood. What is the literary term used to describe a book of this genre? 

3) Books from the first print run of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass can be identified by a misprint in the text of the famous "Jabberwocky" poem. Which word in the poem was spelled incorrectly?

4) Books published in the 19th century and earlier were usually issued in drab, nondescript bindings, with the expectation that the book's new owner would have their book re-bound to fit the style of their personal library. What term is used to describe a binding that was not issued by the publisher but was produced around the time of publication? 

5) Which of Sir Walter Scott’s novels was sold out in 2 days after publication and praised by contemporary author Jane Austen?

6) In 1820, which author gave us the Headless Horseman?

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Answers:

1) Hunting. Published in 1935, it was based on his East African safari, but also contains his literary criticisms of contemporary authors.

2) Bildungsroman. Coming from the German “Bildung” (education) and “Roman” (novel), the term was created in 1819. J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher In the Rye (1951) is another classic of this genre.  

3) The nonsense word “wabe” was mistakenly spelled “wade” in the first printing in 1872. In addition to his use of nonsense poetry, Carroll, a mathematician, used the game of chess for many of his analogies and symbolism throughout the book.

4) Contemporary binding. Binding periods can be identified by materials used and style of decoration, among other markers.

5) Waverley. Published in 1814, the first edition was only 1,000 copies. Of it, Jane Austen said “Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. -- It is not fair. He has Fame and Profit enough as a Poet, and should not be taking the bread out of other people's mouths. -- I do not like him, and do not mean to like Waverley if I can help it -- but fear I must.”

6) Washington Irving. Although a popular myth since the Middle Ages, Irving’s short story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” popularized the tale in America.