In this context, we think immediately of works by the likes of Schubert or Dickens who, for whatever reason, were unable or unwilling to complete their score or book. In the case of Schubert, we are thnking in particular of his 8th Symphony, and with Dickens of The Mystery of Edwin Dude (I think that should be Edwin Drool - Ed).
But are we not mistaken in looking at this question solely from the point of view of the composer, the artist or the author? Is it not also possible that the listener or reader was unable or unwilling to finish the symphony or book because he or she kicked the bucket, walked out of the concert or threw down the book in disgust?
Today, thanks to the arrival of e-books and, latterly, of big data, we are in a position to name the most unfinished books in the recent past. They are Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton and Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty.
I would like to suggest another category: unopened books. I am staring at my two favourites as I write this entry. When I got married France was still a prosperous country, and in 1972 the French Education Nationale offered bemused newly-weds a selection of classics tastefully bound in leather. The two books are: Mrs de La Fayette by the Princess of Cleves and Gustave Flaubert by Mrs Bovary.
But are we not mistaken in looking at this question solely from the point of view of the composer, the artist or the author? Is it not also possible that the listener or reader was unable or unwilling to finish the symphony or book because he or she kicked the bucket, walked out of the concert or threw down the book in disgust?
Today, thanks to the arrival of e-books and, latterly, of big data, we are in a position to name the most unfinished books in the recent past. They are Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton and Capital in the Twenty-First Century by Thomas Piketty.
I would like to suggest another category: unopened books. I am staring at my two favourites as I write this entry. When I got married France was still a prosperous country, and in 1972 the French Education Nationale offered bemused newly-weds a selection of classics tastefully bound in leather. The two books are: Mrs de La Fayette by the Princess of Cleves and Gustave Flaubert by Mrs Bovary.
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