Nell in Bridewell - Part 1

Nell in Bridewell is one of the earliest and best examples of judicial corporal punishment in the English language, but... it is more than that! Indeed, there is so much going on in Nell that it is a fascinating read. Above are the covers for the two versions of Nell for which I am familiar.  At one time or another, I had in my possession a hard copy of these, but I never owned both versions at the same time.

 

Now, the Gray cover above (for FULL size just click on the image) is for the very first printing of Nell and it was printed in the year 1900. So, how do we know it's really that old?  Well, there are three clues. First off, the title page below indicates 1900 as the publication date (again click on the image to enlarge):

Then, the paper was a thick, white, decent quality; not the typical yellow newsprint found in most paperbacks printed after the war. Finally, there is this awful, I believe, Gothic font?! Below is a small sample of the text and you'll quickly see that it's NOT particularly easy on the eyes:

Instead of the usual quotation marks used to identify direct speech, we see these double arrowheads and they are "hanging" just as the exclamation points and question marks.  That is, separated before and after by black spaces. Nevertheless, it's such a good read that in spite of the awful font, you quickly get immersed in story. (Remember I had the book. I can't really say for certain how this would work with a modern electronic device.)

 

Now, a second printing, that I know about, occurred in 1967 (see the yellow cover above) and that printing is in a more traditional English font. Now, there are some other huge differences between these two versions besides the fonts, but I'll get to that later.

Before we go any further, for our German speaking readers (and we have many), you might find it more interesting reading the original story behind Nell.  Nell in Bridewell is an English translation of a far older German novel published in 1840 titled: "Lenchen im Zuchthause"  (Nell in the Penitentiary).  You can download a 1974 version of this work from Library Genesis, by clicking on the link below:

 

Lenchen im Zuchthause

   

(This link should take you to the Library Genesis catalog entry for this work. Once there, in the download options, you should select: Libgen.rs

 

At the very top of the next page, click on the word "Get"

 

Now sometimes I get a "privacy error" message (something about an invalid certification date). Anyhow just go around it (sometimes you ask for Advanced browsing), and you should be prompted for where to store the file.)

 

Below are a few sample covers for Lenchen im Zuchthause  (again for FULL size just click on the image).

  

 

To get the English version of this tale, click on the link below and follow the directions as above for the German version:

Nell in Bridewell

 

(Format of Nell that you download is rtf (rich text file).  Just about every reader or editor can handle rtf. To convert to doc, docx, or pdf is a very simple matter.  This format allows you to choose the font and font size you want as well as set margins. More sophisticated apps can even create epubs from the basic rtf file.)

 

Now, for those of our readers who prefer the English version and English is NOT your primary language (again we have many), there is some potential confusion that I'd like to clear up.  Title of the book is Nell in Bridewell and the book begins with a letter from Helen to Marie.  In the very first paragraph you'll see reference to a character named: Nell  ("Pity poor Nell").  So, potential confusion begins immediately.  That is, what is the relationship between Helen and Nell?  Well (and this is English albeit older English), they are one and the same!  

It is common in English to call a close friend, child or sibling by their nickname. At one time Nell was the nickname for girls with the given name of Helen, Ellen or Eleanor.  It's not common at all anymore, but in 1900 when the Nell in Bridewell was published, it was!

In English, "nicknames" tend to be shorter one syllable names.  For example, Joseph becomes Joe, Elizabeth becomes Beth, Edward becomes Ed or Ted, Janice becomes Jane, Robert becomes Bob, Pamela becomes Pam, William becomes Bill or Will, etc.

Now in many languages, the "nicknames" can be longer than the given name, because the nickname consists of the diminutive appended to the given name. Well, in English we sometimes do that too!  But we append the diminutive to the nickname! For example, little 3-year-old Joe is often called Joey.  Bill becomes Billy. Beth becomes Betty.  Jane becomes Janey. Ted becomes Teddy. Nell becomes Nelly (and you'll find this variant in Nell as well).

I know, I know - this can be most confusing, but then again even for native English speakers it is most confusing.  (We have a bazillion rules and for each rule we have a bazillion exceptions.)

  

Anyhow, start reading and in the next part, we'll go over in detail the differences between the two English versions, and I'll begin sharing some historical facts we've recently uncovered, that pin down the original publication date of Lenchen im Zuchthause with a high level of certainty to 1840.