#1 Old Clock - original text
#2 Hidden Staircase - original text
#3 Bungalow Mystery - original text
#4 Lilac Inn - revised text
#5 Shadow Ranch - revised text
#6 Red Gate Farm - tie
#7 Diary - revised text
#8 Mysterious Letter - original text
#9 Twisted Candles - original text
#10 Larkspur Lane - original text
#11 Broken Locket - revised text
#12 Hollow Oak - original text
#13 Ivory Charm - original text
#14 Whispering Statue - revised text
#15 Haunted Bridge - original text
#16 Tapping Heels - original text
#17 Brass Bound Trunk - revised text
I like 10 original texts better while I like 6 revised texts better. I like both texts the same for one book. Since I read only the revised text books as a child, I am more likely to favor the revised text for the books in which the revised text is a completely different story. For the revised text books that are condensed versions of the original text, I tend to favor the original text since the writing is better.
For #18-34, I suspect that I will tend to favor the original text for the majority of the books. For most of these titles, the stories are exactly the same and have been condensed for the revised text. This usually results in a revised text story which is not quite as good as the original text.
2 comments:
I think I'm becoming a non-hater of the revised versions. As a middle-schooler, I remember getting bogged down only a few chapters into Tapping Heels, Brass Bound Trunk, and Bungalow. I found a revised tweed copy of Bungalow a year ago (love me some antique barns!) and I thoroughly enjoyed the pace of the mystery. Having found my mother's OT copy of Tapping Heels I persevered through it, discovering brilliant scenes interspersed with the need to utterly suspend disbelief. Same reaction to her OT version of Whispering Statue. I don't feel inclined to seek out the revisions as there are plenty of other titles to pursue. The housemaid of the OT Hidden Staircase led me to picture an evil Hattie McDaniel :( The pleasant surprise was the OT Brass Bound Trunk, which would have made a fabulous Carole Lombard screwball comedy! I've greatly benefited from your input on the classic titles, and especially on which revisions stand up to scrutiny. I've purchased 10 of the dreaded Flashlight series because I want new bindings which will survive my niece and any future grandchildren. I certainly intend to teach them to value the older editions, because they will hold in their hands a part of their family history, the tangible legacy of what gave joy to their mothers (or fathers) grandmother (or aunt), and great-grandmother, in the quiet hours of solitude.
This was very interesting.
Post a Comment