Tag: Jane Austen

What’s in a Title?

June 11, 2025 /

doing homeworkWent to the movie, “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life.” I hadn’t read much about the show but the title intrigued me so much, I joined a couple of female friends — no husbands wanted to come — and had a girls night out. The movie was not what any of us expected. To begin with, it was in French with English sub-titles. The scenery was beautiful and the plot  . . . took some work to find.

But the movie got me thinking about titles. The theatre sold three admissions because of the title alone.  A quick glance at my bookshelves reveals generic titles like, Venetia, Sylvester and The Grand Sophy — clearly I own these books because I’m a fan of Georgette Heyer. There are also a number of titles with “Vinyl Café” in the title, because I’m a fan of that series too. However, if I didn’t know the authors, I doubt I’d buy the book, or see the movie, based solely on the title.  How about The Sound of Life’s Unspeakable Beauty? I really enjoyed that book, but I can never remember the title when I wish to recommend it to a friend. It is a translation so perhaps that’s why it is cumbersome in my ear.

The first title in my Prospect series is The Man for Her.  The title was chosen by the publisher and didn’t ring any bells for me, but others said it was a “great” title so what do I know? The subsequent titles, Her One and Only, and Her One True Love were chosen to be consistent with the first.  Would you buy any of those books based on the titles alone?

So, what makes a “selling” title? Musical references are a favourite among romance writers. A quick glance at Amazon shows many titles referencing Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender.” There are many, many titles using the “Mail Order Bride” motif. I really like that trope, but there are so many books to choose from authors have had to add qualifiers to distinguish themselves. So now we have The Sheriff’s, the Doctor’s, the Rancher’s, the Cowboy’s etc. Mail Order Bride. Similarly Harlequin Romance has put “Billionaire” into many of its titles. These practices certainly help readers who want a particular trope to find their next read quickly and predictably. 

A look at Amazon’s “best seller” list revealed The Lost Bookshop: The most charming and uplifting novel for 2025 and the perfect gift for book lovers!  That one had me at bookshop — I’m a sucker for books about book shops! The tagline in the title seems a bit over the top, but it probably has something to do with Amazon’s categories and keyword marketing strategies.

What about the classics? Great Expectations, Wind in the Willows, Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, Two Solitudes, 1984. If you didn’t know about those books already, would the title alone tempt you?

As usual, the decision rests with individual tastes and interests. You can’t please all of the people all of the time, but it might be worth considering the people you want to please when choosing a title. If you’re writing adventure stories putting Jane Austen in the title isn’t going to be a great marketing strategy, but if you’re looking for middle-aged female readers (or movie goers) it works like a charm.

I’d love to hear about your favourite titles (not books, just titles) and what draws you to them. Please drop a line in the comments section to share your thoughts.

Jane and the Brand

May 15, 2024 /

 

This week my book club meets and we are each bringing a different book by Jane Austen. I chose The Watson’s, which was an unfinished fragment left by Miss Austen when she died. Various members of her family tried to complete the ms using Jane’s notes and her sister’s (Cassandra) recollections. Each of these writers used the original manuscript and then tagged on an ending of his/her own, trying to imitate Jane Austen. The version I read is one completed by John Coates — no relation of the Austen’s — that is a rewrite of the whole book, including the part that Miss Austen left unfinished.

It must have taken considerable confidence to re-write the famous author’s original words, but Coates argues that she left only a rough draft and would have edited it herself if she had ever finished it for publication. The result is seamless. I cannot tell what is original to Austen and what was added by John Coates.

This book was a very enjoyable read, but I felt it hadn’t the depth of Austen’s finished works and lacked the humour and gentle mocking of “society” so wonderfully achieved in the major novels. Still, reading what is essentially a rough draft makes it easier to recognize the main characteristics of a Jane Austen novel.

To use modern terminology, the book follows the Austen “brand.” We have a gaggle of sisters, an ailing father, a great need for husbands, faithless suitors, a worthy but awkward hero, a country ball, gossip, and the many restrictions placed upon young ladies of this age. (If reading about the powerlessness of women of that era, whether rich or poor, doesn’t get your women’s lib passion frothing, you’re missing the point!)

Over the years I’ve read many articles and attended many lectures on “branding.” Often the emphasis is on visual similarity like covers and websites being instantly recognizable as belonging to a particular author. Since Jane Austen’s books were first published, they have gone through many editions and different publishers, so the “look-alike” covers don’t apply. But, I think, her story elements are just as reconizable as production elements like cover-art and author name. 

The branding lectures often focus so much on the art, the colours, the fonts, and the back blurb that they overlook what is between the covers. But, when it comes down to it, don’t readers come back to their favourite authors because of the story, the style, the voice, and the reliability of the writer to spin a tale that resonates and satisfies.

Spending my last week in Jane Austen world, I’ve wondered far from the Canadian frontier, and gold prospectors, and building a new country, but it has been fun to take a ” walk on the tame side,” just for a change.

What about you? Are you a confirmed “Janeite?” Do you have a favourite Jane Austen novel? A favourite character? Or are you firmly in the modern world and have no time for picnics and balls and changing your clothes five times a day?

 

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