Futility Closet introduces us to the story of a wild hoax which I have verified through authoritative information sources. It begins with Jean Shepherd, a radio host for WOR-AM in New York City. Shepherd was a published author who was frustrated with the misleading way that bestseller lists were created. So, in 1956, he repeatedly told his listeners about the classic erotic novel I, Libertine by Frederick R. Ewing. Shepherd extolled the virtues merits of this saucy tale and urged his listeners to visit bookstores to request it.
I, Libertine did not exist. But there was, suddenly, massive demand for it to exist.
Shepherd sketched a plot outline for the novel. Publisher Ian Ballantine sent it to science fiction writer Theodore Sturgeon, asking him to ghostwrite the novel very quickly. Sturgeon fell asleep before finishing the text, which was completed by the publisher's wife, Betty Ballantine.
The book included a biography of the fictional Frederick R. Ewing, who was an Oxford graduate, a scholar of the history of erotica, and a retired Royal Navy officer. Ewing's book sold very well for several weeks and was on bestseller lists before journalists exposed the hoax.
Sources:
Bisbort, Alan. Media Scandals, ABC-CLIO, 2008.
Delany, Samuel R. Starboard Wine : More Notes on the Language of Science Fiction, Wesleyan University Press, 2012.
Italie, Hillel. “Betty Ballantine, Who Helped Invent the Modern Paperback, Dies at 99.” Los Angeles Times, Feb 14, 2019.
Photo: University of Tulsa