Missing chapter?

[Lydia]

I read Elizabeth von Arnim's "Elizabeth And Her German Garden" a few months ago, after downloading the Gutenberg e-book, and really enjoyed it- such a peaceful, sweet read, her style reminds me of one of my favorites, L.M. Montgomery. I've been on the lookout for a hard copy of it, and found one in a used bookstore yesterday- it's a paperback Virago edition, published in 1985, reprinted 1994, with a green cover and a painting of two women sitting outside on the front cover. I purchased it and then found out, as I looked through the pages, that a whole chapter that is present in the e-book version is missing from the paperback! The chapter in the e-book starts at Nov. 10 and is a long tale about her pilgrimage to see her childhood home in England. In the paperback copy, it skips to the next chapter, which is marked Nov. 20th in the e-book, but is marked Nov. 11 in the paperback. The e-book says in its introduction that it was "scanned from the illustrated deluxe MacMillan (London) edition of 1900".

Are all the modern editions of the book this messed up?
Are there any other newer editions that feature the missing chapter? I don't particularly want to go on the hunt for a vintage edition. The newer ones are hard enough to find.Trying to decide if I should return it to the bookstore and keep looking for a full edition, or keep it, if there are no modern editions that feature the missing chapter. If anyone has a copy and can help solve this mystery, it would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Adrien]

Hello! I first read this lovely book the same way you did, via the awesome Project Gutenberg. I too went on the hunt for a hardcopy -- bought a paperback print on demand, realized it was missing the same chapter but kept it anyway. Ordered a 1901 hardcover coppy online and the same chapter was missing.
So, I think you're good to keep your copy --though I'm very curious to know why re prints leave out that chapter. Maybe someone at Project Gutenberg would know?

[Lydia]

Thanks Adrien! I'm surprised the 1901 copy was missing it, although it's strange that it's missing at all. Maybe that's why the 1900 edition is "deluxe", because it has an extra chapter? (Although I assumed that referred to the illustrations.) If I find out any more info I'll post it here.

[Richard]

Lydia wrote: "I read Elizabeth von Arnim's "Elizabeth And Her German Garden" a few months ago, after downloading the Gutenberg e-book..."

Ah, a book very near to my heart... This book went through many many editions, some authorized and some unauthorized, and some very much abridged. I own several different editions in hard cover, as well as the Virago paperback edition you mention.

The Project Gutenberg e-book #1327 was originally typed in plain ASCII by my mother in 1998, using my personal copy of the 1900 MacMillan British edition. I have the very book in front of me right now. It goes:

Sep 15 : This is the month...
Nov 11 : When the gray...
Nov 20 : Last night we had ten...
Dec 7 : I have been to England...

The long chapter headed Nov 11 goes from page 59 through 105.

Nov 20 in one edition is headed Nov 10 in one old edition I have, which also skips that "When the gray" chapter. So, we see the modern Virago edition is taken from an apparently abridged edition of 1929.

Almost makes me want to produce a POD paperback from the PG #1327.