Always with a joke - Monty Python

After they had successfully entertained television viewers from all around the world in the late sixties and early seventies of past century, the group Monty Python started making full-length movies and publishing books.

Although their fans expect similar gags in their movies, hardly anyone expected from silly Britons to make pell-mell even in publishing venture.

For a book titled "The Brand New Monty Python Bok" (sequel to Monty Python's Big Red Book with striking blue cover), Terry Jones hired his sister-in-law Katharine Hepburn (accidentally with same name as the famous American actress) to assist them.

The cover was realistically made to look like it was greasy and filled with dirty fingerprints. It was made so realistic that many readers didn’t wanted to buy the book, asking for "newer" and more preserved copy.

However, there was also another thing - the cover could be peeled off and reveal hidden pictures of naked girls. 

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Note from an editor – Charles Dickens

While he was an editor of the weekly magazine “Household Words”, famous English writer Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) received a poem from a young poet with a request to publish it.

Poem’s title was “Orient Pearls at Random Strung”.

Dickens read it and decided not to publish it.  Since he didn’t wanted for the young poet to have to many hopes of publishing, he sent him a notice to inform him about his decision.

“I regret to inform you that your poem will not be published in our magazine. Too much string. Yours, Charles Dickens. “

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Waiting for “Waiting for Godot” – Samuel Beckett and Barney Rosset

When Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), Irish writer who was awarded with Nobel Prize for Literature, wrote his play "Waiting for Godot" in 1952, Barney Rosset, founder of the publishing house "Grove Press”, reluctantly approved the printing of thousand copies of that books.

He thought that publishing of Beckett’s play would be a total failure.

In the beginning, it was indeed like that. In the first year, less than 400 copies were sold. They were mainly bought by Beckett himself, who then gave those copies of “Waiting for Godot” to his friends, as a gift.

But then the play premiered on the Broadway. It was on the program for just six weeks. The critics have written that it is a pure Communist propaganda... However, after that, readers have begun to buy the book.

In just a short period, the suspicious Barney Rosset realized that he sold over two million copies of "Waiting for Godot".

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Paradise Lost – John Milton

 When he was sixty years old, famous English poet John Milton (1608-1674) completely lost his sight, and fell into extreme poverty.

To get some money, in 1669 he sold the publishing rights of his epic poem "Paradise Lost" to London printer and bookseller Samuel Simmons, for just ten pounds. Five pounds immediately, and five pounds after the sale of three editions of "Paradise Lost" (four and a half thousand copies).

After her husband's death, Milton's third wife, Elizabeth, sold all publishing rights of "Paradise Lost" to the same printer – for just eight pounds.

And this skillful bookseller eventually became rich. He invested money in just one work - and that was only eighteen pounds.

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