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Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
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Requests for Superlibrarians > Request to separate merged entry

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message 1: by John (new) - added it

John Armstrong (john_a) | 10 comments The following two books are currently merged:

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (Penguin Classics, 2018) ISBN 978-0143131847

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein (‎Penguin Classics, 2003) ISBN 978-0141439471

The two editions (published 1818 and 1831) are so different, and in such important ways, as to deserve to be treated by GR as two separate items, much as an original text in a non-English language d a translation of the text into English and treated as separated items. Even though the current merged entry has an enormous number of ratings and reviews, I strongly suspect that almost all of them are for the 1831 edition (whether the Penguin or some other), and a much smaller number for the 1818 edition. This being the case, I think it is not too late to distinguish the two, even if it means leaving all the existing ratings and reviews with the merged entry and creating a new, initially empty entry for the 1818 edition and perhaps include a note in the merged entry that mentions the separate entry for the 1818 text.


message 2: by lethe (new)

lethe | 16359 comments John wrote: "much as an original text in a non-English language d a translation of the text into English and treated as separated items."

On Goodreads, translations are combined with the originals.


message 3: by John (new) - added it

John Armstrong (john_a) | 10 comments 90% of what I read are English translations of books in foreign languages (esp. East Asian), and all I've ever looked for or seen are the English translations, and just assumed that the originals (or translations into other languages for that matter) would have separate entries if they were present at all. But the fact remains I think the two versions of Frankenstein are so different as to deserve their own entries. Like different books in a series (e.g. Leigh Bardugo's The Ninth House and Hell Bent) or different versions of the Bible (e.g. King James and NIV).

lethe wrote: "John wrote: "much as an original text in a non-English language d a translation of the text into English and treated as separated items."

On Goodreads, translations are combined with the originals."



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