Once Again to Zelda: The Stories Behind Literature's Most Intriguing Dedications [Hardcover]

Marlene Wagman-Geller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2008

A fascinating look at the stories behind the dedications of 50 literary classics.

Mary Shelley dedicated Frankenstein to her father, her greatest champion. Charlotte Brönte dedicated Jane Eyre to William Makepeace Thackeray for his enthusiastic review of the book’s first edition. Dostoyevsky dedicated The Brothers Karamazov to his typist-turned-lover Anna Grigoyevna. And, as this collection’s title indicates, F. Scott Fitzgerald dedicated his masterpiece The Great Gatsby to his wife Zelda.

Often overlooked, a novel’s dedication can say much about an author and his or her relationship to the person for whom the book was consecrated. Once Again to Zelda explores the dedications in fifty iconic books that are an intrinsic part of both literary and pop culture, shedding light on the author’s psyche, as well as the social and historic context in which the book was first published.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Book dedications provide some small clue to the writer’s personal life, yet most readers accord them little more than a passing glance. English teacher Wagman-Geller became a “dedication detective” after she decided to research what turned out to be a gripping story behind the provocative dedication in Peyton Place and now presents a set of zesty biographical literary essays. She begins with the knotty family history behind Mary Shelley’s dedication in Frankenstein to her controversial father, William Godwin, and moves forward in time to assemble an almost sinfully eclectic range of classic and contemporary writers. Wagman-Geller is an unabashed romantic, and love stories abound, including the grab-a-handkerchief tale of Laura Hillenbrand’s simple dedication, “For Borden.” Wagman-Geller also loves stories of struggle, and opens entire worlds when she writes about Harper Lee, Stephen King, and J. K. Rowling. From dedications by George Eliot to John le Carré, Michael Chabon, and Dean Koontz, this widely appealing book of guilty pleasures provides an unusual portal into the lives of a colorful array of writers. --Donna Seaman

About the Author

Marlene Wagman-Geller, an enthusiastic trivia buff and avid reader, is a veteran high school English teacher.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade (November 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399534628
• ISBN-13: 978-0399534621
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #925,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for literature nerds!!, December 10, 2008

By 

LitChick01 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once Again to Zelda: The Stories Behind Literature's Most Intriguing Dedications (Hardcover)

I don't know what book the person below read. Yes the info on each novel is short - it's supposed to be! It's meant to provide quick blurbs on each author, not an entire master's thesis on each.

I got this book because I'm a huge lit fan, and I thought it was an intriguing way to look at some great classics.

We all know the classic story of Jane Eyre, but did you know that it's eerily similar to the life story of Bronte and the man she "Respectfully Inscribed" it to, writer William Thackeray? Or that it essentially ruined the careers of both authors after it set off a firestorm of rumors about the two? Or that Virginia Woolf dedicated her gender-bending novel Orlando to her greatest female friend Vita Sackville-West, with whom she had a fiery affair?

It's these kind of insights that show that the stories behind these dedications are just as intriguing and complex as the novels themselves. A great gift book for any literature lover!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this little book, December 12, 2008

By 

Riley (minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once Again to Zelda: The Stories Behind Literature's Most Intriguing Dedications (Hardcover)

"Once Again to Zelda" is a fun and well-researched book that satisfies the voyeur in any of us. Author Marlene Wagman-Geller was intrigued by the sometimes cryptic dedications in books, and she tracked down the stories behind the sentiment. some of them are funny, and some of them are romantic, and with some of them you just thank the good lord in heaven that you aren't living their lives.
It's a lot of fun to read.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Book!, December 24, 2008

By 

Steven Mannis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once Again to Zelda: The Stories Behind Literature's Most Intriguing Dedications (Hardcover)

Turn to any page in Once Again to Zelda: The Stories Behind Literature's Most Intriguing Dedications by Marlene Wagman-Geller and there will be a story of romance, passion, drama or inspiration. With an international roster of authors, and a list of titles running from the contemporary to the canonical, Once Again to Zelda (the title is taken from the dedication of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby) is a delight.

Inspiration for the book came by way of Grace Metalious' Peyton Place. When Wagman-Geller read the dedication, "To George, for all of the reasons he knows so well," she had to learn the story behind the story. One juicy detail led to another, and now Wagman-Geller is what she calls a "Dedication Detective."

In Once Again to Zelda, she reveals how Ayn Rand's husband shares his Atlas Shrugged dedication with his wife's lover, and explains the moving tale behind John le Carré's decision to dedicate The Constant Gardener to "Yvette Pierpaoli who lived and died giving a damn." Each tale is a wonder of literary insight and a whole lot of fun.