More for the Collection

Higher priority commitments (I do need to get paid, and saving Wellington's fellow GSDs does rank a tad higher than my personal projects) means that the long-awaited Milton biography for the AI Illustrated Edition is still not finished although some progress has been paid - he has now finished university!

Of course, that hasn't stopped me from purchasing more versions to add to the collection and this latest batch has a couple of interesting items.

Collins Classics Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (2013)

Probably the most recent edition in the collection at less than 10 years old. However, it's a decent edition with both poems with two slightly novel features. The first is the Life and Times and while it's functionally similar to the usual biography it does expand on the context of events at the time of the poem's writing. Unfortunately, it is quite brief.

The other feature is a glossary of words and phrases from the time and this is much more extensive and quite a useful companion to the two poems. I'm tempted to do something similar although maybe as a separate booklet so that it can be more easily referenced while reading the main.

I have to confess that the main reason I picked this up (apart from the crazy goal of collecting a copy of every edition) was Gustav Dore's fantastic illustration. I'm more used to seeing the black and white illustrations and was struck by this bold rendition of the original.

The Poetical Works of Milton, Oxford University Press (1941)

This is a nice understated edition with soft leather binding and little ornamentation apart from thin gold lettering and motif on the spine, and a frame embossing on the covers. It's a lovely edition to hold, just the right weight and size something that seems to be rare with modern hardbacks. The comparison is a little unfair as age adds appeal but even so, there's clearly a difference. Perhaps due to more people reading hardbacks as paperbacks just weren't as common and before hardbacks became relegated to the collector or superfan.

There's a preface that examines each of the included poems with some brief history and also some commentary revealing some insight into each. While hardly extensive it does provide a compelling introduction to the book.

One of my favourite aspects of buying secondhand books is the personal history you occasionally discover. Inside it's handwritten to or from Marjorie Pearson dated Christmas 1941 and there's also an interesting sticker identifying the book as owned by Harold Hartley. There's no indication of a connection but I did wonder did the book provide some comfort to someone during the war or away from their family.  

John Milton's Paradise Lost in Plain English by Lanzara

This book is a line-by-line transliteration of the complete poem. Unlike Daniel Danielson's Parallel Prose edition there's little effort to make the plain English text a pleasing read in its own right. Against each line is a plain English version and I'd suggest that this probably works better as a companion, so if stuck on a particular line you can look it up here to learn the meaning.

It's a shame that it doesn't expand upon the basic meaning to help the reader understand the many classical and sometimes obscure references in the poem. It does exactly what the title states so it's unfair to judge it too harshly beyond that.

The author also write a novelisation of Paradise Lost which is a more pleasing read - you can find more of my thoughts on that book here:

https://paradiselostaiedition.blogspot.com/2022/11/paradise-lost-novel-by-joseph-lanzara.html

From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained (1972)

This book demonstrates that I should do at least a modicum of research before purchasing. Technically this isn't a Jehovah's Witness edition of Paradise Lost I assumed from the title although it does cover the same ground. I've only had a quick look so far and I think I'll have to give it a proper read as it looks like they've adapted the creation story to follow some form of science.

The copy is as old as I am and in a similar well-loved condition :-) It's aimed at younger readers with cheerful simple illustrations and many pen highlights. I think I'll probably buy another copy at some stage although I'll see if I can get an original 1958 print.