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THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: June 30th, 2009, 4:40 pm
by mingy
Having just read the first 2 novels I recently purchased THS. Unfortunately it's the abridged which appears to move at a bizarre speed, are the following editions unabridged?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/That-Hideous-St ... 06&sr=8-10
http://www.amazon.co.uk/That-Hideous-St ... 24&sr=1-12
http://www.amazon.co.uk/That-Hideous-St ... 306&sr=8-2

Obviously I'd prefer the cheaper of the options and my searches over the web haven't proved helpful.

An aside: I'm enjoying the discussions on the other 2 novels, as a non christian it's interesting to see 'the other' viewpoint on them, as it were.

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: June 30th, 2009, 9:25 pm
by Sven
Welcome, mingy!

The only abridged copies out there should be the 1946 Avon Books issue, under the title of The Tortured Planet, and the 1955 Pan issue, under the title of That Hideous Strength.

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: July 16th, 2009, 3:13 am
by Warrior 4 Jesus
Is that so Sven? I have the Pan 1973 printing of That Hideous Strength and it seems to be abridged. I didn't know that was the case.
My copy is 250 pages long but in small print and with little breathing space for the eye.

Mingy,
I don't know about the first and last links being unabridged editions but the second link would be a safe bet. It has more pages than the rest.

This copy has even more pages than any of the copies listed but the font is probably larger.

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: July 16th, 2009, 8:09 pm
by Sven
The date of printing doesn't really matter. If you have the abridged edition, it will say so in the Preface, which in the abridged is only two paragraphs long as compared to the four long paragraphs of the unabridged.

There are two different versions of the unabridged book. One version was first published by Bodley Head in 1945, the other version by Macmillan in 1946. Over the years different new editions used one or the other. For example, in the UK in the early '80s, if you bought the hardcover you got one version, while the paperback was the other. The two have many, mostly minor differences, both in wording and formatting. The quickest way to tell which any particular edition is based on is to look at the end of the Preface. Under Lewis' name, if the date 'Christmas Eve, 1943' is included, it's based on the Macmillan 1946. If the date isn't included, it's based on the Bodley Head 1945. Another quick check is the second paragraph of chapter 13, Ransom's challenge in Latin. If the last word is veneris (with an 'r'), it's the Macmillan, if the last word is venenis (with an 'n'), it's the Bodley Head (to make it even more interesting, in the abridged it's venias) .

All the above and more can be found in Hooper's Companion & Guide.

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: July 17th, 2009, 6:50 am
by Warrior 4 Jesus
Okay, sorry. I guess I have an abridged copy then. Thanks for clearing that up.

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: December 9th, 2009, 7:26 pm
by jo
I had not idea that the books had ever been abridged. I am genuinely scandalised :(

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: December 10th, 2009, 12:21 am
by Warrior 4 Jesus
I know. It seems that it wasn't even abridged properly. Many of the good scenes have been trimmed and some removed and yet the beginning third (the most difficult, slow and mostly uninteresting part) remains pretty much untouched. Oh dear.

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: December 11th, 2009, 12:41 am
by Adam Linton

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: December 11th, 2009, 9:47 pm
by archenland_knight
I deplore the very idea of abridging books at all. Who gets to decide what parts to leave in and what to take out. One editor might say, "Oh, this isn't important," but to some particular reader that part might be the very part that will change his/her perspective on something.

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: December 12th, 2009, 12:24 am
by Warrior 4 Jesus
C.S. Lewis abridged the book himself.

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: December 12th, 2009, 1:52 am
by Adam Linton

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: December 12th, 2009, 9:32 am
by agingjb
I seem to remember a somewhat apologetic preface by CSL on my abridged version of THS (long gone, and replaced by Bodley Head hardbacks) saying that he would not prefer any book (War and Peace? The Faerie Queene? Don Quixote?) to be shorter.

(I also remember "Perelandra" being published as "Voyage to Venus"), but not, I think, abridged.)

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: December 12th, 2009, 5:36 pm
by Sven

Re: THS Abridged question.

PostPosted: December 12th, 2009, 8:55 pm
by jo
He abridged it himself ..? Okay them I am just .. surprised :)