Augustus vs. Algernon (was:Neville's Evil Gran?! )

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 77574

Katrina:
> The Lexicon says under Augustus Rookwood, "In first British 
>editions of The Order of the Phoenix, Rookwood's name is erroneously 
>given as Algernon"

Mandy:
>Thanks Katrina I had missed that. However, how do we know it was a 
>mistake in the UK first edition? Surly that came first before the 
>US 'translation'.
 
Except that this is OoP that we're talking about. The UK and US editiions 
were published simultaneously (well, OK, five hours apart). Given that JKR had 
contracts with both publishers before completing the manuscript, I doubt that 
Bloomsbury got hold of it much ahead of Scholastic.

If, in the UK GoF, we have an Augustus Rookwood of the Dept of Mysteries 
mentioned at Bagman's court appearance as having passsed on Ministry secrets (I'm 
working from memory - a child has had the audacity to borrow the book <g>) and 
then in the UK OoP, we have an Algernon Rookwood convicted of leaking MoM 
secrets, application of Occam's razor suggests that "Algernon" is an error.

OK, it might not be, but in that case, we have to assume that JKR's US 
editors made a mistake, *assumed* it was an error and "corrected" it, presumably 
with JKR's consent.

In previous discussions of the discrepancies between the UK and US editions, 
it has become clear, at least to me, that the UK and US editorial processes 
are quite separate.  Time and again we find errors that have been corrected in 
one edition and left in the other.

Why this should be, I can't imagine. Why, if her US editor picks up an 
apparent error (which presumably needs to be checked with the author before 
correction), this isn't then brought to the attention of JKR's UK publisher (or vice 
versa) is something I've never fathomed.

~Eloise

Although he could just be Augustus Algernon Rookwood, which has a certain 
ring to it. Or perhaps he's *really* Algernon, but before he was outed as a DE 
and a mole, assumed the name Augustus as he felt it cut a bit more of a dash.

    
    



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