Books · Sahitya - Literature

Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright – 50.000 words without the letter “e”

Ernest Vincent Wright

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ShrutSangam GyanBhandars JainTatvaGyanshala

This bizarre book, Gadsby, is a lipogram written in 1939 by the american Ernest Vincent Wright. The concept is the total absence of the letter “e” from all sentences on all pages. An article in the Oshkosh Daily in 1937 wrote that the manuscript was “amazingly smooth. No halting parts. A continuity of plot and almost classic clarity obtains.” Wright said in his introduction to Gadsby that “this story was written, not through any attempt to attain literary merit, but due to a somewhat balky nature, caused by hearing it so constantly claimed that ‘it can’t be done.” He said he tied down the “e” key on his typewriter while completing the final manuscript. “This was done so that none of that vowel might slip in, accidentally; and many did try to do so!” Read more