14 replies to this topic

[Coop]

Has Live And Let Die been banned, or rather suppressed, by Penguin in the USA? It is absent from the current line-up. I can see some elements in it worrying the PC brigade- eg. one chapter is titled Nıgger Heaven so have Penguin chickened out and decided not to re-issue it?

[zencat]

Live and Let Die is set for release in April along with Thunderball and FYEO. The chapter title above was never used in a U.S. book. It was changed to "Seventh Avenue" in the first US publication in 1954 and has remained that in every subsequent printing.

[Coop]

Interesting. Thanks for the info. I intend to buy all the American books for their covers anyway, but I shall definitely get hold of this and see if there are any other alterations to the text.

[zencat]

It's a very interesting topic. The early Fleming books had many changes and alterations made to the US editions -- large sections cut, sex scenes toned down, etc. -- and I'm not sure they were ever changed back! (This might be a good question for the new Fleming website.) I'm also buying the US editions for the cover art, but as a rule, I always read UK editions of Fleming just to be sure I

[Coop]

I think I shall ask that very question at the Fleming website. I'd always presumed that the books were the same on both sides of the Atlantic, with perhaps a few spelling alterations (grey/gray, colour/color etc). I haven't got any of the new US editions yet. Perhaps these will be the original versions published for the first time in America. As Penguin books now own them in both territories, it'd be cheaper for them to publish the same versions albeit with new covers. Live And Let Die might be the exception though, for reasons discussed above.

[zencat]

I just submitted the question to the site. Sometimes they write back, sometimes they don't. If you hear back from them, Coop, post it here. I'll do the same.

[Mister Asterix]

There are plenty of alterarions in Live and Let Die. About two pages with Bond and Felix listening to a black couple talking in the 'Nıgger Heaven/Seventh Avenue' chapter that is gone in the American version. There are a several instances where one or two words are changed. One I remember is that Felix calls one of Mr. Big's men an 'ape' in the US version and a 'black ape' in the UK version. Another change is the colour of the train. (The US version corrects the colour of the train to the real colour.) There is an article about the trains on ianfleming.org. The same article mentions a different magazine article about the racial difference. I believe the article was in Goldeneye magazine, but I'm not sure about that.

[Truman-Lodge]

This is an intriguing topic. Does anyone know why Fleming used "Diamonds Are Forever" for the British edition, yet Gardner used "Nobody Lives For Ever" for his?

I also prefer to buy the British Fleming versions so that I can read it unabridged, although I go with the American ones with Gardner, because it's the complete opposite with him (I know C.O.L.D. is missing huge chunks of text).

[zencat]

Yes, that's true. The US Gardner books are more complete than the UK editions for some reason. COLD is completly screwed up in that it lacks the year indicator noting the passage of time between its two major sections (but maybe you still get this in the text?). I

[Coop]

Could you let me know what the line is so I can write it into my UK edition

[Truman-Lodge]

Yeah, Zencat! What were you thinking not telling us the line?

While you're at it, Coop, you should cross out every reference to Christmas Jones. :cool:

[zencat]

I can do better than that. Here's a whole thread on TWINE - the missing line?

[jwheels]

does anybody know if the unabridged version is going to be the one realesed this year.

[Truman-Lodge]

Zencat - Thanks. Since that topic seems to have died quite a while ago, I'd just like to say that the missing line refers to the lullaby Elektra sings after she gets shot (I think)

jwheels57 - It's probably going to be the edited version, I'm afraid.

[zencat]

Here it is:

The UK edition of THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH ends with the line:

"Their bodies melded once again into a perfect cadence, inspired by the crackling explosions of the fireworks above them."


Okay. But the U.S. edition ends with:

"Their bodies melded once again into a perfect rhythm, inspired by the crackling explosions of the fireworks above them, completely unaware that elsewhere in the city at least one mother was singing her children to sleep with a plaintive lullaby."