Gadsby [Hardcover]

Ernest V. Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

Wright spent five and a half months writing Gadsby on a typewriter with the "e" key tied down so that it couldn't be used at all. A warehouse holding copies of Gadsby burned shortly after the book was printed, destroying most copies of the ill-fated novel. The book was never reviewed and only kept alive by the efforts of a few avant-garde intellos and assorted connoisseurs of the odd, weird and zany. But by word-of-mouth it has become an underground cult classic. The book's scarcity and oddness has in the past seen copies priced at $4,000 by book dealers. Over time, this peculiar masterpiece has had many curious readers open to this interestingly unusual reading experience.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ernest Vincent Wright (1873?-1939) was an American author. His most famous work is Gadsby, "A Story of Over 50,000 Words", which, except for the introduction and a note at the end, did not use the letter e. Every word was properly spelled and all narration was grammatically correct. Wright's passing away at 66 was within days or months of publication of Gadsby. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Lightyear Pr (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0899684459
• ISBN-13: 978-0899684451
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,976,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've read it too (kinda!), July 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Gadsby (Hardcover)

After hearing about this book, for years I was intrigued as to how anyone could possibly write a page, much less a book, without the letter "e". Finally I found a copy (in the rare book room of New York City's main library!) and by jove, the man did it! (As the reviewer below notes, the introduction does include the letter e - which the author humoursly notes might be cheating the whole enterprise. He also tells us the e's, after gathering around but never getting to enter the pages, sulk off cyring back something like "that's a fine yarn you'll have without *us* arround!"). I only had time to read a bit of the book before the library closed, but it seemed a fun young adult-type book written by a warm man who had a stroke of genius. Hats off and get this thing back in print!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a substitute for the original!, June 26, 2009

By 

Jay Dillon "Jay Dillon Rare Books + Manuscripts" (Monmouth Beach, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gadsby (Paperback)

This review refers *only* to the Ramble House / Fender Tucker edition, 2005/6.

I bought this edition from the publisher (Ramble House / Fender Tucker) in May 2006. I compared it carefully with my copy of the original edition (1939). I was disappointed to find HUNDREDS OF ERRORS in the Ramble House edition -- including some real howlers like "Smiting" (page 164) for "Smiling" (in the original, page 252).

On the whole it appears that this edition (Ramble House / Fender Tucker) was printed from a defective e-text made from a fuzzy photocopy of the original edition. And since there are already a number of defective e-texts on line, it's hard to see why we need one in print.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Gadsby (Hardcover)

I have actually read this book. It tells the story of the youth of a small town, and the many projects they take on, such as building a zoo, etc. It gets pretty slow in spots, but I thought it was fun to read just because of the lack of the letter 'e'. The introduction says that the author tied the 'e' key of his typewriter down so as not use use it by mistake.