Choosing the title of a novel or short story can sometimes be quite an arduous task, especially when it comes to summarizing the idea of the book and, of course, BE TRADEL.
And although today we could not conceive of some of the most famous works of literature under another name, the truth is that if we go back to the months prior to its publication, some authors and their respective editors saw them and wished to change the title initially planned for that work which, judging by subsequent acceptance, was the more correct. Or could it have been better?
Would La casa still be the greatest work in Hispanic literature? Perhaps The Last Man in Europe the greatest classic in Orwell's bibliography?
Judge yourselves the initial titles of those great works of literature which, in order to make it more fun, will start each item in order to check if you guess the title before moving on to the next line.
The house
This was the first title thought to baptize what would become the greatest work of Latin American literature, "One Hundred Years of Solitude." However, Gabriel García Márquez decided to change the title at the last minute so that no confusion will be created with the novel La casa grande, by his friend Álvaro Cepeda Samudio, published in 1954.
The last man in Europe
Publishing a novel in 1949 under the title "1984" has its own thing, especially at a time when humanity did not look to the future as boldly as we do today (or perhaps not as much). A successful title that George Orwell's publisher decided to use at the last minute after considering The Last Man in Europe, working title, as terribly commercial.
The undead dead
This one sure isn't too hard to guess, let's see: Frankesntein, Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, Dracula again. . . yes, Dracula! Luckily, Bram Stocker knew how to choose the appropriate title in time for what would become the most iconic character in horror literature.
West Egg Trail
This title, along with Trimalción in West Egg, Between heaps of ash and millionaires or Under the red, white and blue were candidates to baptize the great work of F. Scott Fitzgerald "The Great Gatsby". For those who have not yet read the book, West Egg was the fictional elite neighborhood where the plot took place.
Atticus
It's not hard to guess the working title of Harper Lee's play "To Kill a Mockingbird", a novel whose final title was chosen after Lee's refusal to focus all attention on a single character.
First impressions
Although we don't like "Pride and Prejudice" any more, Jane Austen he groped around for this not-so-un-successful title for what would become his greatest work.
Some of the initial titles of those great works of literature that we all know today are not as misguided as might be expected (The undead dead aside, of course). However, see out of habit, see out of affection, One Hundred Years of Solitude or Dracula seem to us already so mythical names that we could not substitute them for others.
Never.
Do you think these authors made the appropriate decision?
I think they were all right. Very good information.
One Hundred Years of Solitude is not the greatest Latin American novel, it is only the best known.