There's that old story about an author who got a text from his publisher telling him that he had a commission to write a book about "ant hunting in Nepal". Unfortunately, after years of research, he delivered the manuscript only to discover that the text should have read " Plant Hunting in Nepal". Well, he just had to start all over again ... and eventually it got done ... there's a whole raft of these daft mistakes ... an over-the-phone request to write " Parrots of the World " misheard as " Carrots of the World" , and even a first draft which when delivered was grippingly entitled " Nifty shades of Grey".
Well, naturally, I couldn't help transferring this idea to the wacky world of French books.
First, there's the sad case of poor old Daniel Pennac, who got a telegram years ago asking for a book apparently about "gres" ...it was bit out of his skill set, but he swotted up and eventually delivered the manuscript, only to be told that he had got things a bit wrong. Well, telegrams were crap weren't they? Yes. Two years later the correct book came out, with great success, as ...
Good old Grég Delacourt also got " court out" ( ho-ho) when he got a phone call on a rather duff line asking him to write a book about " Past Lives" ... "Mes Vies" it was to be called. It struck him as a great theme, and he wrote 78000 words in the "magic realism " mode , taking him through past existences in Mesopotamia, Naples, Siberia and Hemel Hempstead.
Here he is, having found out what the book should have been ..
It didn't just happen in modern times though. In the "old days" communications were rubbish. Yes ! That Alphonse Doudet got horribly caught out when a messenger, who had travelled for 23 days by horse to get to him, during which time he had largely forgotten the details of his very very important message, breathlessly announced that he had to write a book called " Tres Mou". It seemed a bit odd at the time, but he got to work, turning out what he thought was a fantastic book about erectile dysfunction ... the first ever tome on this sensitive subject. There was a lot of it about in those days due to mouldy apples, rancid liver, lack of internet advice etc. Anyway, it was supposed to be ,and eventually was, this ... a far less interesting book as it turned out ... but first, here is the only known picture of old Alphonse ... a simple soul, by the looks of it ..
[email protected]
Meanwhile ,here's ..well, you can probably guess ... smashing song this ....
LATER ... I've just found out that there IS a book called "Mes Vies" ...