Notes on the Writing Life: On rewriting: did you know ... ?

Notes on the Writing Life

Notes on the Writing Life

Thursday, June 25, 2009

On rewriting: did you know ... ?

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I was surprised to learn in Cleaver's Immediate Fiction that John Fowles, author of The Collector and The French Lieutenant's Woman, rewrote The Magus ten years after it had been published to great success. There are two versions of The Magus in print, apparently: an astonishing thing. The second version was a best-seller as well.

I can well understand thinking about how a story might have been written, but can't imagine going back, not after it has been published.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

And then it being published again!

Sandra Gulland. said...

So true, Lilian. I hadn't thought of that. Amazing.

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