Thomas Bowdler
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| '''Thomas Bowdler''' ([[July 11]], [[1754]] – [[February 24]], [[1825]]) was an [[England|English]] [[physician]] who published an [[expurgated]] edition of [[William Shakespeare]]'s work that he considered to be more appropriate than the original for women and children. He similarly edited [[Edward Gibbon]]'s ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]''. His expurgation was the subject of some criticism and [[ridicule]] and, through the [[eponym]] '''''bowdlerise''''' (or '''''[[bowdlerize]]''''') , his name is now associated with [[prude|prudish]] [[censorship]] of literature, motion pictures and television programmes. | '''Thomas Bowdler''' ([[July 11]], [[1754]] – [[February 24]], [[1825]]) was an [[England|English]] [[physician]] who published an [[expurgated]] edition of [[William Shakespeare]]'s work that he considered to be more appropriate than the original for women and children. He similarly edited [[Edward Gibbon]]'s ''[[Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire]]''. His expurgation was the subject of some criticism and [[ridicule]] and, through the [[eponym]] '''''bowdlerise''''' (or '''''[[bowdlerize]]''''') , his name is now associated with [[prude|prudish]] [[censorship]] of literature, motion pictures and television programmes. | ||
| + | ==Popular culture== | ||
| + | *In "[[Thomas Pynchon]]'s [[The Crying of Lot 49]] chapter six Emory Bortz says, "I've been pirated, me and Wharfinger, we've been Bowdlerized in reverse or something." | ||
| + | * In the ''[[Moral Orel]]'' television program, Moralton's town library is named the Thomas Bowdler Library; most of the library's books are censored (Episode 2, "God's Greatest Gift") | ||
| + | * In the [[Thursday Next]] novels by [[Jasper Fforde]], the Jurisfiction police who monitor the textual integrity of all books written and unwritten are constantly battling the Bowdlerisers, who attempt to erase material that they find offensive. | ||
| + | *In Act II of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]]'s 1884 [[comic opera]] ''[[Princess Ida]]'', Lady Psyche suggests that students at a women's university who wish to study the classics should get their editions "Bowdlerised". | ||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
| *[[Bowdlerize]] | *[[Bowdlerize]] | ||
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Thomas Bowdler (July 11, 1754 – February 24, 1825) was an English physician who published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare's work that he considered to be more appropriate than the original for women and children. He similarly edited Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His expurgation was the subject of some criticism and ridicule and, through the eponym bowdlerise (or bowdlerize) , his name is now associated with prudish censorship of literature, motion pictures and television programmes.
Popular culture
- In "Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 chapter six Emory Bortz says, "I've been pirated, me and Wharfinger, we've been Bowdlerized in reverse or something."
- In the Moral Orel television program, Moralton's town library is named the Thomas Bowdler Library; most of the library's books are censored (Episode 2, "God's Greatest Gift")
- In the Thursday Next novels by Jasper Fforde, the Jurisfiction police who monitor the textual integrity of all books written and unwritten are constantly battling the Bowdlerisers, who attempt to erase material that they find offensive.
- In Act II of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1884 comic opera Princess Ida, Lady Psyche suggests that students at a women's university who wish to study the classics should get their editions "Bowdlerised".
See also
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Thomas Bowdler" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
