There are myriad unsung heroes behind the books we love. Today, in the run-up to Thanksgiving, we offer gratitude to editors.
Believe it or not, Margaret Mitchell named her Gone With the Wind heroine Pansy.
Can you imagine Clark Gable calling Vivien Leigh “Pansy”? It doesn’t have the same ring, does it?
Just before the book went to press, Mitchell’s editor, Harold Latham, convinced her to change the name to Scarlet. Phew!
Editor, Tay Hohuff played a major role in ensuring Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, July 1960, became part of the American literary canon.
Lee’s original manuscript titled, Go Set a Watchman, contained a series of anecdotes about Lee’s childhood. Her editor advised cutting everything but the stories about Scout’s father, as a model for integrity among lawyers, and an exquisitely contained story was revealed.
Go Set a Watchman was eventually published in July 2015.
Nancy Murray will be here November 15, entertaining us with amazing tales from No Experience Necessary. She has two Low Country readings scheduled: First at Dataw Island Community Center from 1-2:30, followed by a reading at the Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort at 5:00. Wine and refreshments follow.