New Editions to the Collection

Over the past week or so my Paradise Lost collection has grown - nothing too historical as I lost out on a couple of auctions, but some interesting books nonetheless. I think I have it in the back of my mind to do a Pokemon and try and collect them all! However, when I look on Goodreads it lists 4,315 different editions, although that does include ebook and audio versions. On the flip side, it doesn't seem to include antique editions - in either case, I have quite a ways to go.

You can see my collection so far here:

https://paradiselostaiedition.blogspot.com/p/my-collection.html

And here we have the new ones:

Airmont Classic Edition (1968)

 

This superficially has a similar form to the Penguin Classics, although from a US publisher and containing a few more supporting notes, and more significantly it includes Paradise Regained.  Sadly it's only in fair condition with some damage on the back cover. Like many mass paperbacks after a certain age, it has a fragile feel to it.

Ben Power Play Adaptation (2006)

 

Beyond the interest of adding another version of the original poem, this is a stage adaptation that may come in handy as a reference for a future project. I'm not familiar with the stage production, but I'd happily go and see one. The author seems to be experienced in adapting classics to play form. I'm now curious how more adaptations there are, and what differences there might be between them.

Philip Pullman Illustrated Edition (2005)

 

The influence of Milton's work is readily apparent in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials books, and Pullman is open about this fact. My first book 'The Cult of Me (or rather a trilogy) was also heavily inspired by Paradise Lost, but it's fair to say that he did a better job!

This particular edition is also interesting as it's essentially the same project that I'm undertaking, so it's reassuring not to be the only lunatic with this idea :-)

Milton for the Methodists (1988)

So I suspect that this could well entice me down a John Wesley shaped rabbit hole in the not-too-distant future. l was aware that John Wesley held the work to be of some special significance, but have so far managed to avoid looking too deeply into it. However, while working on a local history project (to be revealed at the end of this month) mention of this work attracted my attention.

I know have a growing stack of papers to read to learn more about this association and you should probably expect a more general article about this once I'm more familiar with the history. In terms of a version of the poem, it's an abridged version with selected passages of importance to John Wesley's religious perspective.