Neverwhere

While the novel form of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere remains the most widely known version of the story, the narrative was originally created as a television series that aired in 1996; Gaiman created the novel more or less concurrently and used it to correct many of the inevitable changes to plot and setting that occurred during the series’ production. Published in 1997, the novel also clarifies the finer aspects of world-building that imbue the narrative with Gaiman’s unique blend of fantasy, history, philosophy, and adventure. Gaiman later created an “Americanized” version of the novel for Avon Books, adding approximately 12,000 words and cutting other passages in an attempt to clarify aspects of London geography and omit culture-based references that American readers might find difficult to understand. In 2006, however, he republished an “Author’s Preferred Text” version of the novel that blends the British and American versions and restores many of the omitted passages, particularly a range of humorous quips that had been cut from the Americanized version. In his introduction to the Author’s Preferred Version, Gaiman wryly explains that his editor at Avon Books “was convinced that American readers would not be able to cope with jokes in a book that wasn’t meant solely to be funny.