Difference between editions of classics?

[sparkchaser]

OK, this is a totally n00bish question but what, if any, differences are there between the different editions of classic books?

For example, Amazon has at least 10 different editions of Treasure Island. Publisher and cover art aside, are there any differences between the books?

 

[Fred R]

I've wondered the same thing myself, but I've never taken the time to actually sit down to compare different editions I have.

I think that in MOST cases if you aren't dealing with abridged versions or translations you should be getting essentially the same text. There will usually be a few different typos here and there between versions.

Jules Verne especially got butchered by English-speaking translators and censors.

Some books I have will mention in the foreward or in footnotes if corrections have been made to the original text.

It gets tricky though because sometimes they'll be censored for content but never mention that it's been done. Different versions of Gulliver's Travels have been heavily edited due to inflammatory political content. There are also several children's editions out there which pretty much reduce it to fairytale.

Pretty much every version of Upton Sinclair's, The Jungle, has been stripped of much of the more radical Socialist content and some of the more grisly descriptions of the meatpacking industry that were in his original text.

 

[sparkchaser]

Thanks for the reply Fred. This is the exact kind of information I was looking for.

This prompts an additional question I didn't anticipate: when reading books that have been translated into English, there are bound to be mistakes in intended meaning and flow; for the classics, such as The Three Musketeers, are there translations that are considered superior to others?

As for The Jungle, I would hope there was an unedited edition available somewhere.

 

[Jez]

I'm sure there are some differences, as have been mentioned. Some texts are "restored" where bits that were cut in original or previous editions are now included. That's usually advertised though. And then the flip side, where parts were cut out.

Some editions might have more goodies like analyses, introductions, appendixes, references, or things like that.

You make an interesting point about translations. Right now one of my book clubs is reading a book, but I don't think any of us are reading it in the same language (and none of us are reading it in the original German). I'm not sure how many differences we'll be able to spot, but I know that some translations can completely change the feel of the entire book. Usually reviews and reader feedback from things like forums or amazon help identify which translations are the best and which are the worst. I wonder sometimes if there has been a case where a translator made a poorly written book a well written book.

 

[PhilW]

The American editions are all full of spelling errors...'color', 'labor', etc.

 

[Tanjil]

Hello

I was wondering about one thing relating to this...Is there anything particularly "bad" about the 'Penguin Popular Classics' editions? They're so cheap and seem to have perhaps fewer pages than other editions, so I was wondering if maybe they're abridged in any way, but it's certainly not mentioned. Anybody know anything about this?

Tanjil

 

[PhilW]

Nowt wrong with 'em as far as I know...maybe they have fewer pages because they use very small print

 

[Tanjil]

Yes, that's what I thought. Was just wondering, is all.

 

[HermioneWeasley]

I have a very good english teacher who taught me to look carefully at editions and choose good ones. For translations, there are definately some translations better than others - really thin, cheap books tend to have worse translations. I usually use modern library classics, but rarely-I prefer to read in the original. Also, some editions have endnotes, etc...for example, the Oxford World's Classics editions have very good endnotes for books by Dumas, and a fairly good translation. There are also some very famous translators/very famous translations, such as the translation of the Diving Comedy by Allen Mendelbaum, which are considered the 'definitive' translation. Some editions also contain intros and bios of authors, which are usually good as they give context to the work. So it depends if you want just a good translation, annotation, context, whatever...is there a particular book you're trying to decide the edition for?

 

[sparkchaser]

Thanks Hermione. That was exactly what I was looking for.

 

[GERBAM]

soooo many booooooks

OK, this is a totally n00bish question but what, if any, differences are there between the different editions of classic books?
For example, Amazon has at least 10 different editions of Treasure Island. Publisher and cover art aside, are there any differences between the books?

Hi
I think all of you are on target but in a simpler approach to English LIt. I alwaays look for NORTON CLASSICS editions ... they are true to the text and have lit. crit. in the back

VIRAGO is another fine publisher who offers mainly 19C and early 20thC classic writers ... mostly women

Most publishers who offer only classics and translated classics are good about staying true to text et.al.

You can also go to the various publisher's sites and read about their various editions ie. PENGUIN CLASSICS

Very good question and thanks for sharing all of this information everyone