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Authors: John Connolly
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Berger’s “improvements” to great novels and
plays is known as the “Confusion” and has come to be regarded as a lesson in
why such experiments should generally be avoided.
The first clue Mr. Gedeon had that something was amiss was
when he passed the Liverpool Playhouse on his way to catch the train back to
Glossom, his brother having miraculously recovered to such an extent that he
was threatening to sue his physicians, and discovered that the theatre was
playing The Comedy of Macbeth . He did a quick double take and
immediately sought out the nearest bookshop. There he found a copy of The
Comedy of Macbeth , along with a critical commentary labeling it “one of the
most troubling of Shakespeare’s later plays, due to its curious mixture of
violence and inappropriate humor bordering on early bedroom farce.”
“Good Lord,” said Mr. Gedeon aloud. “What has he done? For
that matter, what else has he done?”
Mr. Gedeon thought hard for a time, trying to recall the
novels or plays about which Mr. Berger had expressed serious reservations. He
seemed to recall Mr. Berger complaining that the ending of A Tale of Two
Cities had always made him cry. An examination of a copy of the book in
question revealed that it now ended with Sydney Carton being rescued from the
guillotine by an airship piloted by the Scarlet Pimpernel, with a footnote advising
that this had provided the inspiration for a later series of novels by Baroness
Orczy.
“Oh God,” said Mr. Gedeon.
Then there was Hardy. Tess of the d’Urbervilles now
ended with Tess’s escape from prison, engineered by Angel Clare and a team of
demolitions experts, while The Mayor of Casterbridge had Michael
Henchard living in a rose-covered cottage near his newly married stepdaughter
and breeding goldfinches. At the conclusion of Jude the Obscure , Jude
Fawley escaped the clutches of Arabella and survived his final desperate visit
to Sue in the freezing weather, whereupon they both ran away and went to live
happily ever after in Eastbourne.
“This is terrible,” said Mr. Gedeon, although even he had to
admit that he preferred Mr. Berger’s endings to Thomas Hardy’s.
Finally he came to Anna Karenina . It took him a
little while to find the change, because this one was subtler than the others:
a deletion instead of an actual piece of bad rewriting. It was still wrong, but
Mr. Gedeon understood Mr. Berger’s reason for making the change. Perhaps if Mr.
Gedeon had experienced similar feelings about one of the characters in his
care, he might have found the courage to intervene in a similar way. He had
been a witness to the sufferings of so many of them, the consequences of
decisions made by heartless authors, the miserable Hardy not least among them,
but his first duty was, and always had been, to the books. This would have to
be put right, however valid Mr. Berger might have believed his actions to be.
Mr. Gedeon returned the copy of Anna Karenina to its
shelf and made his way to the station.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Mr. Berger woke to the most terrible hangover. It took him a while even to
recall where he was, never mind what he might have done. His mouth was dry, his
head was thumping, and his neck and back were aching from having fallen asleep
at Mr. Gedeon’s desk. He made himself some tea and toast, most of which he
managed to keep down, and stared in horror at the pile of first editions that
he had violated the night before. He had a vague sense that they did not
represent the entirety of his efforts, for he dimly recalled returning some to
the shelves, singing merrily to himself as he went, although he was damned if
he could bring to mind the titles of all the books involved. So ill and
appalled was he that he could find no reason to stay awake. Instead, he curled
up on the couch in the hope that, when he opened his eyes again, the world of
literature might somehow have self-corrected, and the intensity of his headache
might have lessened. Only one
plays is known as the “Confusion” and has come to be regarded as a lesson in
why such experiments should generally be avoided.
The first clue Mr. Gedeon had that something was amiss was
when he passed the Liverpool Playhouse on his way to catch the train back to
Glossom, his brother having miraculously recovered to such an extent that he
was threatening to sue his physicians, and discovered that the theatre was
playing The Comedy of Macbeth . He did a quick double take and
immediately sought out the nearest bookshop. There he found a copy of The
Comedy of Macbeth , along with a critical commentary labeling it “one of the
most troubling of Shakespeare’s later plays, due to its curious mixture of
violence and inappropriate humor bordering on early bedroom farce.”
“Good Lord,” said Mr. Gedeon aloud. “What has he done? For
that matter, what else has he done?”
Mr. Gedeon thought hard for a time, trying to recall the
novels or plays about which Mr. Berger had expressed serious reservations. He
seemed to recall Mr. Berger complaining that the ending of A Tale of Two
Cities had always made him cry. An examination of a copy of the book in
question revealed that it now ended with Sydney Carton being rescued from the
guillotine by an airship piloted by the Scarlet Pimpernel, with a footnote advising
that this had provided the inspiration for a later series of novels by Baroness
Orczy.
“Oh God,” said Mr. Gedeon.
Then there was Hardy. Tess of the d’Urbervilles now
ended with Tess’s escape from prison, engineered by Angel Clare and a team of
demolitions experts, while The Mayor of Casterbridge had Michael
Henchard living in a rose-covered cottage near his newly married stepdaughter
and breeding goldfinches. At the conclusion of Jude the Obscure , Jude
Fawley escaped the clutches of Arabella and survived his final desperate visit
to Sue in the freezing weather, whereupon they both ran away and went to live
happily ever after in Eastbourne.
“This is terrible,” said Mr. Gedeon, although even he had to
admit that he preferred Mr. Berger’s endings to Thomas Hardy’s.
Finally he came to Anna Karenina . It took him a
little while to find the change, because this one was subtler than the others:
a deletion instead of an actual piece of bad rewriting. It was still wrong, but
Mr. Gedeon understood Mr. Berger’s reason for making the change. Perhaps if Mr.
Gedeon had experienced similar feelings about one of the characters in his
care, he might have found the courage to intervene in a similar way. He had
been a witness to the sufferings of so many of them, the consequences of
decisions made by heartless authors, the miserable Hardy not least among them,
but his first duty was, and always had been, to the books. This would have to
be put right, however valid Mr. Berger might have believed his actions to be.
Mr. Gedeon returned the copy of Anna Karenina to its
shelf and made his way to the station.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Mr. Berger woke to the most terrible hangover. It took him a while even to
recall where he was, never mind what he might have done. His mouth was dry, his
head was thumping, and his neck and back were aching from having fallen asleep
at Mr. Gedeon’s desk. He made himself some tea and toast, most of which he
managed to keep down, and stared in horror at the pile of first editions that
he had violated the night before. He had a vague sense that they did not
represent the entirety of his efforts, for he dimly recalled returning some to
the shelves, singing merrily to himself as he went, although he was damned if
he could bring to mind the titles of all the books involved. So ill and
appalled was he that he could find no reason to stay awake. Instead, he curled
up on the couch in the hope that, when he opened his eyes again, the world of
literature might somehow have self-corrected, and the intensity of his headache
might have lessened. Only one
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