Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2017 November 14

= November 14 =

Afraid of "ghosts"
Is the novel Dragon Teeth really written by Crichton himself ? 203.134.198.169 (talk) 09:51, 14 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Fixed your link. --69.159.60.147 (talk) 12:33, 14 November 2017 (UTC)


 * What makes you think it wasn't him? --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  10:05, 14 November 2017 (UTC)


 * I think it makes sense to ask, considering his popularity and the publication almost 10 years after his death. Considering Crichton's popularity, if someone else actually had to do a large part of the writing, that's the sort of thing a publisher might conceal.  As late as 4 or 5 years after Robert Ludlum died, novels with only his name on them were still appearing (see Robert Ludlum bibliography), but they contained a note such as "Since his death, the Estate of Robert Ludlum has worked with a carefully selected author and editor to prepare and edit this work for publication". --69.159.60.147 (talk) 12:33, 14 November 2017 (UTC)
 * The article, however, clearly states that it was written by him in 1974, long before his death. Publishing an extant manuscript is different from an estate of a deceased author authorizing some rando to write a book in his name.  The question amounts to "was it really written in 1974"?  If the sources say it was, that's all we have to go on.  This source clearly states that it was published "from a manuscript written in the mid 1970s"  -- Jayron 32 16:34, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

In some cases unpublished or even unfinished works by deceased famous authors get published, either because someone considers the work historically important, or to capitalize on the fame. Margaret Mitchell died in 1949, having only published one novel. Her biographers were aware that she had a number of unpublished manuscripts and made an effort to search for them. Some are probably lost for good, but they were able to locate a novella called Lost Laysen which Mitchell wrote when she was 15-years-old. It was published in 1996, 80 years following the date of writing and 47 years following Mitchell's deaths.

Similarly, Agatha Christie (who died in 1976), left a number of unpublished manuscripts. Those searching for them located a complete manuscript for a lost play called Chimneys (written in 1931). They decided to produce it for the stage, and the play had its world debut in 2003. 72 years following the date of writing, and 27 years following Christie's death.

A more peculiar case is the one with Robert E. Howard. He died in 1936, leaving behind a rather large number of stories which had been rejected for publication, and drafts for unfinished stories. Several authors took to revising the unpublished ones for publication and completing the unfinished ones. Due to backlash from so-called "purists" who felt the newer authors ruined Howard's work, there is an effort in recent decades to publish the unaltered original versions. This has resulted in 3 or 4 versions of the same story being in circulation.

Some music works are also "published" posthumously, even when the creator never intended to publish them. Ludwig van Beethoven composed Allegretto for Piano Trio, WoO. 39 as a personal gift for the daughter of one of his friends, and the work only existed in a single manuscript. Following Beethoven's death, a music historian tracked down the manuscript and published it. Dimadick (talk) 00:52, 15 November 2017 (UTC)


 * In this context, Paris in the Twentieth Century deserves a mention. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:57, 15 November 2017 (UTC)


 * As does John Kennedy Toole, all of whose works were published posthumously. -- Jayron 32 12:59, 15 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Category:Novels published posthumously has them all. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  19:16, 15 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Well, a lot of them. "All" is probably not really approachable.  -- Jayron 32 20:25, 15 November 2017 (UTC)


 * Well, all of the ones we have articles on, ok? It covers the ones that editors have been scatter-gunning at us, and a great many more besides.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:14, 15 November 2017 (UTC)
 * "all of the ones we have articles on, ok" Assuming the relevant articles are correctly categorized. I often come across articles that have not been categorized at all. Dimadick (talk) 10:23, 17 November 2017 (UTC)
 * Yes, yes, I know all about Wiki-categorisation issues, but how about you folks just accept my contribution in the spirit in which it was given (helpful, positive, big picture ...), rather than subjecting it to endless nitpickery. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:06, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

how to write about a topic
if i want to write about a topic and i want people to comment how can i do it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Silver baby (talk • contribs) 18:11, 14 November 2017 (UTC)
 * In what context? -- Jayron 32 20:05, 14 November 2017 (UTC)
 * That is what people use Facebook for, or a blog. As Jayron says, if you can provide more context we might be able to point you to something more suitable.--Shantavira|feed me 12:47, 15 November 2017 (UTC)