Authors on Authors

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Once Again to Zelda: The Stories Behind Literature's Most Intriguing Dedications

By:

Marlene Wagman-Geller

A fascinating look at the stories behind the dedications of 50 literary classics.

Mary Shelley dedicated Frankenstein to her father, her greatest champion. Charlotte Brönte dedicated Jane Eyre to William Makepeace Thackeray for his enthusiastic review of the book’s first edition. Dostoyevsky dedicated The Brothers Karamazov to his typist-turned-lover Anna Grigoyevna. And, as this collection’s title indicates, F. Scott Fitzgerald dedicated his masterpiece The Great Gatsby to his wife Zelda.

Often overlooked, a novel’s dedication can say much about an author and his or her relationship to the person for whom the book was consecrated. Once Again to Zelda explores the dedications in fifty iconic books that are an intrinsic part of both literary and pop culture, shedding light on the author’s psyche, as well as the social and historic context in which the book was first published.

About the Author

Review

“Once Again to Zelda” was the first book of its kind to enter my reading experience, an experience which spans sixty years. It was an education deeper into my love of both reading and writing. It awakened and soothed a curiosity I wasn’t even aware that I had. In a fascinating way, it educated me in the stories behind the stories we’ve come to think of as “The Classics”  

Ms. Wagman-Geller locked into the one thing present in almost every book ever written─ the dedication. Who was to know that within a dedication, another saga may be hiding? I read some dedication stories that rivaled the novel which inspired it! Months of research and dedication to an idea by this author provides the reader with another ‘classic’, the first book of its kind to my knowledge. It inspired me as an author and entertained me as a reader. It gave birth to the information gathering dust in library stacks rarely visited. It gave insight to the inner rumblings of many writers, the commonalities and the dissonance.

I strongly recommend anyone who loves books, who has an insatiable curiosity or simply loves a collection of fascinating stories to pick up a copy of Once Again to Zelda, settle into your favorite reading place and delve into the mysteries masked in a dedication. Was Grace Meltalious’ Peyton Place an autobiography? Who would have the tenacity to dedicate a book to both a spouse and a lover? Marlene Wagman-Geller, for her efforts, has earned every star in the standard five-star review!