View source for I, Libertine

{{Short description|Hoax novel created by Jean Shepherd}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2015}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = I, Libertine
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = I, Libertine (book cover).jpg
| caption = Cover of first edition (paperback)
| author = Frederick R. Ewing<br />([[Theodore Sturgeon]])
| illustrator =
| cover_artist = [[Frank Kelly Freas]]
| country = United States
| language = English
| series =
| genre = Historical fiction
| publisher = [[Ballantine Books]]
| release_date = 1956
| english_release_date =
| media_type = Print ([[hardcover]] & [[paperback]])
| pages = 151
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}

'''''I, Libertine''''' is a [[historical fiction|historical novel]] that began as a practical joke by [[Jean Shepherd]], a late-night radio [[raconteur]] who aimed to lampoon the process of determining best-selling books. After generating substantial attention for a novel that did not actually exist, Shepherd approved a 1956 edition of the book written mainly by [[Theodore Sturgeon]]—which was later claimed to have become an actual best-seller, with all profits donated to charity.

== Creation ==
Shepherd was annoyed at the way [[bestseller]] lists were compiled in the mid-1950s. These lists were determined from sales figures and from the number of requests for new and upcoming books at bookstores. Shepherd urged his listeners to enter bookstores and ask for a non-existent book. He fabricated the author (Frederick R. Ewing) of this imaginary novel, concocted a title (''I, Libertine''), and outlined a basic plot for his listeners to use on bookstore clerks. Fans of the show took it further, planting references to the book and author so widely that demand for the book led to unsupported claims of its inclusion on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 26, 2017 |title=8 Notable Attempts to Hack the New York Times Bestseller List |url=https://lithub.com/8-notable-attempts-to-hack-the-new-york-times-bestseller-list/ |access-date=March 2, 2022 |first=Emily|last=Temple|website=[[Literary Hub]] |language=en-US}} "[T]here's no evidence that this is true." Bergmann, Eugene B. (2005) ''Excelsior You Fathead! The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd''. Applause Theatre and Cinema Books. ISBN 978-1-55783-600-7. p. 133 "[P]roof of this has not been found."</ref>

== Publication ==
Bookstores became interested in carrying Ewing's novel, which allegedly had been [[banned in Boston]]. When publisher [[Ian Ballantine]], novelist [[Theodore Sturgeon]], and Shepherd met for lunch, Ballantine hired Sturgeon to write a novel based on Shepherd's outline. [[Betty Ballantine]] completed the final chapter after Sturgeon fell asleep, exhausted, on the Ballantines' couch, having tried to meet the deadline in one marathon typing session.

On September 13, 1956, [[Ballantine Books]] published ''I, Libertine'' simultaneously in [[hardcover]] and [[paperback]] editions with Shepherd pictured as Ewing, looking as dissolute as possible, on the back cover author's photograph. The proceeds from book sales were donated to charity.<ref>[http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/06/the-i-libertine.html An interview with Shepherd on the hoax from Long John Nebel's radio show], ''WFMU's Beware of the Blog'', June 25, 2008. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829164446/http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/06/the-i-libertine.html |date=August 29, 2008 }}.</ref> A few weeks before publication, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' officially "exposed" the hoax, already an [[open secret]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Henderson |first=Carter |title=Ballantine Books Makes Hoax Come True |url=//flicklives.com/Articles/Wall_Street_Journel/8-1-56/8-1-56.jpg |access-date= February 27, 2014 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=August 1, 1956|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020427051336/http://flicklives.com/Articles/Wall_Street_Journel/8-1-56/8-1-56.jpg |archive-date= April 27, 2002 }}</ref>

=== Plot ===
''I, Libertine'' tells the story of a social climber who styles himself as Lance Courtenay. Most of the plot is closely based on the life of [[Elizabeth Chudleigh]]. An [[afterword]] states that "The story of Elizabeth Chudleigh is substantially true ...", which could easily be taken as being part of the hoax, ironically.<ref>T. H. White, ''The Age of Scandal'', [[Faber & Faber]], 2011, {{ISBN|978-0571274765}}.</ref>

=== Cover painting ===
The front [[Book cover|cover]] displays a quote: {{" '}}Gadzooks,' quoth I, 'but here's a saucy bawd!{{' "}}. The [[Cover art|cover painting]] by [[Frank Kelly Freas]] includes hidden images and [[In-joke|inside jokes]]: The sign on the tavern, Fish & Staff, has a [[Shepherd's crook|shepherd's staff]] and an image of a [[sturgeon]], referencing both Sturgeon and Shepherd. A portion of the word often spoken on the air by Shepherd – "Excelsior!" – can be seen on the paperback cover in a triangular area at extreme left, where it is part of the decoration on the [[Stagecoach|coach]] door. The entire word is visible on the hardcover [[dust jacket]], which features more of the [[illustration]].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Novels}}
* ''[[Atlanta Nights]]'' – another hoax book created in an attempt to manipulate the publishing process.
* ''[[Naked Came the Manatee]]'', a 1996 serialized South Florida mystery thriller parody
* ''[[Naked Came the Stranger]]''
* [[J. R. Hartley]] – author of another fictitious book, written after it became famous.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.sniggle.net/libertine.php Cover with link to documents]
* {{cite web|url=http://flicklives.com/books/I%20Libertine/books_I_Lib.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718030324/http://flicklives.com/books/I%20Libertine/books_I_Lib.htm|archive-date=July 18, 2011|website=flicklives.com|title=I, Libertine}}
* [http://www.bobkaye.com/ilibertine.html History and back cover scan]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.flicklives.com/Books/I%20Libertine/books_I_Lib_audio.htm|title=I, Libertine|format=audiobook|website=flicklives.com|access-date=2006-09-04|archive-date=2006-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060613005634/http://flicklives.com/Books/I%20Libertine/books_I_Lib_audio.htm|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|last1=Powell|first1=J. Mark|title=The Bestseller Book That Didn't Exist: how the Author of a Beloved Christmas Classic Pulled Off the Hoax of the Century|url=http://www.jmarkpowell.com/the-bestseller-book-that-didnt-exist-how-the-author-of-a-beloved-christmas-classic-pulled-off-the-hoax-of-the-century/|access-date=August 3, 2015|date=April 25, 2015}}

{{Theodore Sturgeon}}

[[Category:1950s hoaxes]]
[[Category:1956 American novels]]
[[Category:Ballantine Books books]]
[[Category:Books with cover art by Frank Kelly Freas]]
[[Category:Jean Shepherd]]
[[Category:Literary forgeries]]
[[Category:Novels by Theodore Sturgeon]]
[[Category:Works published under a pseudonym]]