I, Libertine

by Theodore Sturgeon

The novel that began as a radio hoax, Theodore Sturgeon’s I, Libertine is a hilarious erotic romp through the royal boudoirs of eighteenth-century LondonInspired by a notorious radio hoax in the mid-1950s, popular radio host and prankster Jean Shepherd exhorted his faithful listeners to approach their local booksellers the next morning and request copies of the historical novel I, Libertine by Frederick R. Ewing—a book that had never been written, by an author who had never been alive. The hoax was so successful that I, Libertine became the talk of the town, even earning the unique distinction of being banned by the Archdiocese of Boston, despite the fact that it didn’t yet exist. Now there was nothing left to do but write the thing . . . and fantasy and science fiction legend Theodore Sturgeon was called in to work his magic. Originally written pseudonymously, Sturgeon’s I, Libertine is a glorious tale of close shaves, daring escapes, and wildly licentious behavior. It covers the bawdy misdeeds of Captain Lance Courtenay as he carelessly romps through the royal court and the bedchambers of London’s finest ladies. Chock-full of wicked wit and Sturgeon’s trademark twists and turns, it is a hilarious, picaresque adventure that Ewing himself would certainly have been proud to call his own, if he had existed. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Theodore Sturgeon including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the University of Kansas’s Kenneth Spencer Research Library and the author’s estate, among other sources.

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Comedy, Classics

239 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Theodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) is considered one of the godfathers of contemporary science fiction and dark fantasy. The author of numerous acclaimed short stories and novels, among them the classics More Than Human, Venus Plus X, and To Marry Medusa, Sturgeon also wrote for television and holds among his credits two episodes of the original 1960s Star Trek series, for which he created the Vulcan mating ritual and the expression "Live long and prosper." He is also credited as the inspiration for Kurt Vonnegut's recurring fictional character Kilgore Trout.

Sturgeon is the recipient of the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the International Fantasy Award. In 2000, he was posthumously honored with a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this mainly because Theodore Sturgeon ghostwrote it, but after reading the full story on how it came to be, I stayed for the practical joke.

Back in the '50s, much like today, there was a huge disconnect between what is "good" versus what is "popular". When a radio show pumped up a fictitious author who had written a fictitious book and asked all its listeners to drum up some serious demand, it got way out of hand.

The book was on the New York Times bestseller list and NO ONE HAD ANY COPIES. Mostly because it hasn't been written. Go figure.

Ah, hype.

Well, this is a classic history lesson for ya'll. The book eventually got written and it was all exactly what you might think it is: free love in stuffy old England. The sensational trial happened. We must assume all the free love and hijinx did, too. Dangerous Liaisons, indeed.

The story isn't bad but it's not one I'll write home about. The hype surrounding it, is.

[David Ressel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am wayyyy behind on my blog/reviews/rantings. But, I am inspired to make a quick entry to add "I, Libertine." Recently on a trip to Buffalo, I learned that noted science fiction artist, Kelly Freas, cover artist for the subsequent published edition', came from the Nickel City and went to Lafayette High School!

Also, tangentially related, --- "A Christmas Story" which for the most part was filmed in Cleveland (apparently the house is still maintained in its filmed style), there were portions shot in St. Catherines. Learned about it while visiting an exhibit on toilet history, (yup) called "Sitting Pretty." Also visited the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Now I can pour bleach in my eyes, for I have seen all there is to see on this earth.

I digress, as usual. "I, Libertine." what can I say? Nothing. Brilliant. I used to love this sort thing, but it has fallen out of my favor with the exception of a recent piece by my former teacher David Hajdu on Jameson "NIck" Hathaway, but I am reminded that "I, Libertine" is amazing.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Because never in my life have I had life’s permission to develop the taste for simple pleasures, I shall pursue dark ones.”

Historical fiction as if done by Terry Pratchett. The intriguing background for this book can be found elsewhere. Knowing it only adds the Sturgeon’s accomplishment: he wrote a book which had supposedly already been written and did so with meticulous attention to historic detail and plausibility.

“We must present you as rake, not defiler; libertine rather than lecher.” “Libertine—I?” “Men have made greater sacrifices for king, country, and career.” “And how on earth am I to find just a proper scandal?” “Manufacture it, lad.”

Though set in 1770s England, the story is something of a send up of regency romances such as of Jane Austen and contemporaries. It as if Sturgeon lifted a regency novel roué and made him the protagonist.

“Every onset of passion is a digression from rational conduct.”

Contrary to the provocative title, this is not pornography. Not close. It is funny and sad. I suspect Sturgeon had great fun writing it.

“What would I do without you?” “Do without, I imagine.”

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful book that enjoyed thoroughly. As a book that started out life as a rumor on Jean Shepeard's night time radio talk show, then ended up on the N.Y. Times Bestseller List simply based on the requests of his listeners, and later turned into a physical book by Ian Ballantine of Ballantine Books, who got Theodore Sturgeon to write all but the last chapter, which was written by his wife, Betty Ballantine.

The story itself was actually researched and written in a single marathon typing session. It is a story of Lance, Captain Courtney, a young man wishing to rise in London society and how he gets himself intertwined with the lives of different women. Liv Chudney, Lilith Axelrood and Elaine Huestes (sp?) I actually listened to the audio version.

While you would never call Lance a Libertine, there are so many machinations and legal manipulations in the story that it is always interesting. Revenge, revenue, alchemy and hair removal all play their roles in Lance's life. He even finds love and sorrow, along with parents.

All around, a capital achievement by Mr. Sturgeon. Give it a listen at www.uvula_audio.com They have some great classics there.

[Dan'l Danehy-Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read every Sturgeon novel and short story ... except for this one. It was out of print, hard to find, and expensive beyond reasonable afford. Then there came this Kindle edition and I was a happy clam.

The book is legendary, and not only for its outofprintliness. The writer, radio personality, and all around oddball Jean Shepherd, annoyed at the way bestseller lists were compiled, encouraged his listeners (the "Night People") to go to booksellers and request "I, Libertine," by Frederick R. Ewing. The only problem was, the book did not exist. Nonetheless, so many requests were made that it began to appear on bestseller lists.

Enter Ted Sturgeon.

Shepherd had actually created an outline for the book, which he used to help his listeners request it. Ian Ballantine, of Ballantine Books, hired Sturgeon to write it. The story goes that he wrote almost all of it in a single marathon typing session and then, when the exhausted Sturgeon fell asleep, Betty Ballantine finished the last chapter. The book was published with Shepherd standing in for Ewing in the cover photo, and proceeds going to charity.

So what's it about?

Shepherd apparently had done some research - or else read T.H. White's _The Age of Scandal_ - for the plot fits neatly into the outrageous true story of one Elizabeth Chudleigh, a gold-digger of the 1760s who married a potential Earl, denied the marriage through a suit of jacitation, married a Duke, and was eventually found guilty of bigamy - but allowed to leave England with a substantial part of the wealth she had inherited from the Duke.

Into this wonderful story Shepherd and Sturgeon insinuate one Lance Courtenay, a bastard raised by a hostler and a dissolute lawyer with a brilliant mind for plots and counterplots. Courtenay believes himself to be not only a bastard, but a noble bastard, and is determined to climb to what he believes is his rightful place in Georgian English society.

It would not do to dwell on the plot itself, which is full of twists and turns and delights. Suffice it to say that this is very much a biter bit tale, and leave it unsaid who ultimately is the biter and who the bit.

Theodore Sturgeon was, I believe, incapable of writing a bad sentence. _I, Libertine_ is full of lovely turns of phrase, wordplay, and descriptions of both character and scene. The characters are exaggerated in a Dickensy sort of way, and the fictional characters interplay with the real ones in ways that do not greatly disturb the historical facts (though in an Afterword, "Ewing" admits that he did in fact adjust a few of them for reasons of plot).

Is this Sturgeon's best novel? Not by any means; but it is of quality equal to or better than his movie adaptations, which are actually, one and all, quite good books in their own right. Forced to follow another writer's plot (and, in the case of the movie adaptations, even dialog), Sturgeon still wrote solid-to-beautiful prose and added depths that the source material did not provide.

I am glad I read it, and now return to my previously-scheduled Le Guin a thon.

[Sherron Wahrheit · Rating 5 out of 5]

So excited when I stumbled across this, and it turned out to be amazingly good, historical fiction of the Georgian era, written in the mid 1950s, by a science fiction writer, in one fell swoop on a typewriter. I can’t imagine even retyping a whole book in one sitting. But I can imagine the giddy, sweaty, maniacal pressure!

I learned about this novel in an article about the deceptive marketing practices within the New York Times best seller list. The criticism was that the numbers are made up ahead of time based on the perceived amount of buzz—not actual sales. And some publishers (like Scientology) further skew the data by buying books by the case load to artificially inflate their sales numbers.

This specific book came about because some disgruntled people wanted to expose this fakery by getting a nonexistent novel by a fake writer onto the best seller list. It worked. And the hoax was so much fun, they continued by actually getting a writer, Theodore Sturgeon, to ghostwrite an actual story. It’s a legitimate full length novel—It’s not just a wham bam thank you ma’am three chapter novelette. So to speak. The plot involves some illegitimacy and is based on an historical case of bigamy.

It starts dreadfully slowly but eventually becomes an absorbing page-turner. There’s every contrivance expected: convoluted plot; intrigue; dukes, earls, and footpads; witty dialogue; and it’s surprisingly clean—considering the title. Plus there’s some unexpected character development, too!

I have some minor criticism.

While not exactly a criticism (since it was written in the 1950s), as they were trying to get some authentic 1700s flavor, there’s a depiction of American Indians that made me uncomfortable.

Minor spoiler:

My big criticism is that we never find out who commits an odious double cross. Boo!! And there’s a point where I want to punch the main guy.

[Steve]

The Man Behind The Brilliant Media Hoax Of "I, Libertine"

"The Struggle of Night People Against the Day People"

http://www.theawl.com/2013/02/the-man...

[Scott Benowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I, Libertine" is the only book that I've ever read which had become popular BEFORE it had been published.
While Theodore Sturgeon and Betty Ballantine's wording styles as well as the plot are interesting, however, for me the appeal of this book is the reason that Theodore Sturgeon wrote it.
Briefly: Way back in the mid 1950's, the writer and voice actor Jean Shepherd had been hosting various radio talk shows. Jean Shepherd had become frustrated with the manner that the editors of the book review sections of newspapers had been using to compile their weekly bestseller lists back in mid 1950's- specifically, rather than consult with publishing companies and book distribution companies, the editors who had been in charge of the book review sections of many of the newspapers which had the highest circulations throughout the U.S. had only been consulting with the owners and the managers of bookstores. Back in the mid 1950's, the bestseller lists which were published in the book review sections of many newspapers each had only been based on the weekly receipts from bookstores- which is a method which will yield partially accurate results. If the editors who administered the book review sections of newspapers had consulted with publishing companies in addition to having consulted with the owners and the managers of bookstores, they'd likely have been compiling weekly lists which would have had different- and probably more accurate results.
SO- in an effort to expose the inaccuracies which sometimes had been resulting from the methods that the editors who had been in charge of administering the book review sections of many of the most widely read newspapers in the U.S. had been using to compile the weekly bestseller lists, Jean Shepherd instructed the people who enjoyed listening to his radio talk show to go to bookstores and request copies of "I, Libertine"; this was an interesting experiment specially because when Jean Shepherd had been telking his fans to request copies of this book from bookstores, no such book entitled "I, Libertine" existed.
To continue the hoax, in 1956, Jean Shepherd consulted with the senior editors at Ballantine Books, and they decided that hired they'd hire the writer Theodore Sturgeon to write a book which they'd entitle "I, Libertine."
In 1956, Theodore Sturgeon wrote the majority of this book, and Betty Ballantine.from the Ballantine Publishing company wrote the last chapter of this book. The story in "I, Libertine" is based largely on the life story of the 18th century British Duchess of Kingston and Countess of Bristol Elizabeth Pierrepont.
While the plot is interesting, to be entirely honest, I'd not have read this book had I not been familiar with the background; I purchased my copy of this book when I'd read about the initial hoax which Jean Shepherd had initiated in the mid 1950's.
Because this book had initially been inspired by a hoax which had been intended to expose flaws in the methods that the editors who had been in charge of the book review sections of many of the widely circulated newspapers throughout the U.S. had been using to compile their weekly bestseller lists, "I Libertine" holds a very unique place in the fiction of the second half of the twentieth century.
13 years before Lyle Stuart had published Penelope Ashe's "Naked Came The Stranger," Ballantine Books published Theodore Sturgeon's "I, Libertine." Anyone who is interested in the literary hoaxes of the 20th century will enjoy this book.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2017 the "author" (I use the term loosely) Lani Sarem manipulated her "book" (again, loosely) onto the top of the New York Times Best Seller list.

See more here: https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/handb...

Among her many sins, Sarem wasn't even original in faking her way onto the best seller list.

Back in the 1950's, a popular late night radio host Jean Shepherd complained on air about how the NYT's best seller list had nothing to do with quality - just sales figures and requests for new books at bookstores. He made up a non-existent book - 'I, Libertine' - and told his listeners to all go to bookstores and ask to buy this "new best seller". His fans ran with the challenge and soon this hot title was on the NYT best seller list!

So a publisher hired the author Theodore Sturgeon, a noted sci-fi author, to write this Tom Jones-esque novel for real.

The book is based on the real life figure of Elizabeth Chudleigh, a larger than life woman whose real life had enough scandal for a whole series of books. But the main character here is Lance, a young man who doesn't know his family background, was left as a child to be trained by a curmudgeony lawyer, and is desperate to rise as high as he can, by almost any means. Many colorful characters are in his orbit as he crashes through 18th century London, and the reader cheers all his escapades on.

[Vultural · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ewing, Frederick - I, Libertine

“Gadzooks, but here’s a saucy bawd!”
BANNED IN BOSTON.
With credentials like that, I knew this must be good.
Rollicking historical adventure, the sort you seldom find anymore, and certainly will not read.
Lance, 18th century hustler, advances up the social rank via romantic dalliances.
Schemes and steam aplenty. Those of faint heart, beware.
Believe it or not, this was a bestseller at one point.
Also a favorite of Jean Shepherd (“you’ll shoot your eye out”) and SciFi great Theodore Sturgeon.
Ideal book for lovers of spring, particularly April.

[solitaryfossil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theodore Sturgeon was a great writer, no matter which genre he was working within - Science Fiction, Horror, and here Historical Fiction. This humorous novella was a pleasure to read, and I couldn’t foresee the events of the final chapters, and I enjoyed every twisty-turning wrench thrown into the plot. Good bawdy-but-tame fun. Stand and deliver!

[Alexey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Теодор конечно поразительный писатель. Так красиво подделать стилистику языка под 18 век в Англии. Не перестаю удивляться таланту этого человека.
А троечку поставил за сам роман, сюжет захватывающий, но жанр не мой.

[sydneyyyyyyyyy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't like it, they didn't teach me how to bathe my jackets. The protagonist was literally just a fried necklace. I HATED IT.

[Calvin Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Ewing: it’s about time the public discovered him!”

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have heard of this book – what Jean Shepherd fan hasn’t? - and thought I’d never have a chance to read it – I mean – look at the copies available and you’ll see only collectors would have the bucks to get a copy. And the libraries? Forget it!

Thanks to Open Road, it’s available again – a rollicking spoof on historical novels so popular when this was written by sci-fi master,
Theodore Sturgeon of all people.

Hawked by Jean Shepherd on his legendary late night WOR radio show before it was written, this book had Shep followers asking at their bookstores for a book that didn’t exist!

But then Theodore Sturgeon, friend of Jean Shepherd, undertook the task – the rest is literary history,

Read this until now unavailable historical novel satire – in a class of its own.