The literary life isn't just about curling up with a good book and a cuppa, it's also a world where Lord Byron calls John Keats' work "piss-a-bed poetry", spaniels eat the first drafts of masterpieces and gung-ho Ben Jonson shows he's more than happy to prove the sword is mightier than the pen.
The Book of Literary Scandals shows that behind the jaunty covers and feelgood memoirs is a dingier world of personal insults, physical blows, and publishing errors. It's one where books suffer bad endings and libraries impose bizarre sanctions. It's a story of writers behaving badly since Sophocles clashed quills with Euripedes, defacing books, abandoning spouses, and regretting choosing Dylan Thomas to be the Best Man at their wedding. Elsewhere it looks at hot take reviews, sniffy dedications, publishers' rejection letters, literary friendships gone sour and why you should never lick a book with a green cover.
The book weaves original documents, rare books and historical anecdotes into an entertaining alternative history of the literary canon.
| ISBN: | 9780712355834 |
| Publication date: | 16th October 2025 |
| Author: | Alex Johnson |
| Publisher: | British Library Publishing |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 176 pages |
| Genres: |
Autobiography: writers Literary companions, book reviews and guides Modern and Contemporary Fiction Classic fiction: general and literary Literary essays Literary studies: general Literary studies: poetry and poets Literary studies: plays and playwrights Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers |
The literary life isn't just about curling up with a good book and a cuppa, it's also a world where Lord Byron calls John Keats' work "piss-a-bed poetry", spaniels eat the first drafts of masterpieces and gung-ho Ben Jonson shows he's more than happy to prove the sword is mightier than the pen.
The Book of Literary Scandals shows that behind the jaunty covers and feelgood memoirs is a dingier world of personal insults, physical blows, and publishing errors. It's one where books suffer bad endings and libraries impose bizarre sanctions. It's a story of writers behaving badly since Sophocles clashed quills with Euripedes, defacing books, abandoning spouses, and regretting choosing Dylan Thomas to be the Best Man at their wedding. Elsewhere it looks at hot take reviews, sniffy dedications, publishers' rejection letters, literary friendships gone sour and why you should never lick a book with a green cover.
The book weaves original documents, rare books and historical anecdotes into an entertaining alternative history of the literary canon.
When Books Go Bad features in the following genres: Autobiography: writers, Literary companions, book reviews and guides, Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Classic fiction: general and literary, Literary essays, Literary studies: general, Literary studies: poetry and poets, Literary studies: plays and playwrights, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers
When Books Go Bad is available in Hardback
When Books Go Bad was written by Alex Johnson and published by British Library Publishing
When Books Go Bad has 176 pages
£13.49