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Do you remember when your high school reading list featured titles like Atticus, Fiesta, and The Last Man in Europe? You'll soon recall these original titles as you uncover what these famous books were initially going to be called before hitting the shelves.
1. The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald considered several alternate titles for his most famous novel before settling on The Great Gatsby. If he’d chosen one of the other options, students today might be studying Trimalchio in West Egg, Among Ash-Heaps and Millionaires, On the Road to West Egg, Under the Red, White, and Blue, Gold-Hatted Gatsby, or even The High-Bouncing Lover. Just weeks before the book’s release, Fitzgerald sent a cable to his publisher saying, “CRAZY ABOUT TITLE UNDER THE RED WHITE AND BLUE STOP [WHAT] WOULD DELAY BE.” But in the end, he was persuaded to go with another name.
Later, the author reflected on his choice of The Great Gatsby and admitted, “It’s O.K., but deep down I feel I should have called it Trimalchio... Gatsby feels too much like Babbit, and The Great Gatsby lacks the ironic focus on his true greatness—or lack of it. But, well, let it be.”
2. 1984
When George Orwell’s publisher saw the title of his novel, The Last Man in Europe, he thought it lacked commercial appeal. The publisher suggested using the other title Orwell had been toying with—1984 instead.
3. Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand initially referred to her masterpiece as The Strike for quite a while. However, in 1956, a year before its publication, she decided the title revealed too much of the plot. Her husband then suggested Atlas Shrugged—a title she had used for a chapter—and it ultimately became the final choice.
4. Dracula
Bram Stoker. | Hulton Archive/GettyImagesInitially, Bram Stoker had a more unconventional title for his Gothic horror novel. He originally called it The Dead Un-Dead, which later changed to The Undead before he finally settled on Dracula.
5. The Sun Also Rises
Ernest Hemingway initially titled his 1926 novel Fiesta, which was used for international editions. However, the American release was named The Sun Also Rises. Another possible title floated around was, “For in much wisdom is much grief and he that increases knowledge [sic] increaseth sorrow.”
6. Catch-22
Author Joseph Heller originally wanted to call his novel Catch-18, but after Leon Uris’s book Mila 18 came out the previous year, editor Robert Gottlieb pushed for a change. They briefly considered Catch-11, but with the original Ocean’s Eleven movie hitting theaters, it was ruled out to avoid confusion. After playing with other options, they settled on 22.
7. To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee. | Chip Somodevilla/GettyImagesWhen Harper Lee first submitted her novel to publishers, it was titled Go Set a Watchman. She later changed the title to Atticus but decided it was too focused on just one character. The finished book was much different from her original draft, and Go Set a Watchman was eventually published when Lee was 89 years old.
8. Pride and Prejudice
Before Jane Austen settled on the name Pride and Prejudice for her iconic novel, the working title was First Impressions. It’s believed that a title change was necessary because another author, Margaret Holford, had already published a book called First Impressions; or the Portrait.
9. The Secret Garden
In the classic nursery rhyme, Mistress Mary (now famously known as Mary, Mary) asks, “Quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” Well, apparently, it grows secretly. The original working title for Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden was Mistress Mary, inspired by that rhyme.
10. Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck. | Hulton Deutsch/GettyImagesJohn Steinbeck initially titled his 1937 novella Something That Happened. The title he ultimately chose was inspired by a poem from Robert Burns.
