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The Seven Lady Godivas is Dr. Seuss's fourth book and one of the only two written for adults, the other being You're Only Old Once!: A Book for Obsolete Children. It is relatively obscure and its first publishing in 1939 was considered a failure. The book was remaindered until 1987, when it was republished by "multitudinous demand," only to fail again. It's argued that this flop was one of the factors that led to Seuss's decision to pursue writing solely for children, claiming "adults are obsolete children, and the hell with them."

Dr. Seuss, in the foreward:

A beautiful story of love, honor and scientific achievement has too long been gathering dust in the archives.”

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Plot Summary[]

The story is Seuss's twisted version of the legend of Lady Godiva, the wife of an Earl who rode the streets of Coventry naked to oppose his oppressive taxes. Supposedly the single onlooker of the act, dubbed Peeping Tom, was made blind or killed on the spot.

In The Seven Lady Godivas: True Facts Concerning History's Barest Family, there is not one lady and one voyeur, but instead seven naked sisters and their respective lovers, the seven Peeping brothers. After the death of their father on his horse, they vow to postpone their marriages until they can uncover the noble Horse Truths, all based around equestrian idioms -- "don't look a gift horse in the mouth," "putting the cart before the horse," "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink," "lucky horseshoe," "horse of a different color," "never change horses in the middle of the stream," and "don't lock the barn door after the horse has been stolen."

Reception[]

Seuss reportedly had misgivings about The Seven Lady Godivas before its publication; the drawing on the endpaper contains a small bucket of sap labeled "Bennett Cerf," the name of Seuss's publisher at Random House. Seuss, by calling Cerf a sap, was apparently implying that Cerf was being too nice in allowing the book to be published.[1] The initial 1939 publishing had a print run of 10,000 copies, but only around 2,500 sold. (One authority states that only 50 were sold.[2]) Seuss himself called it his "greatest failure" and "a book that nobody bought".[3] To another interviewer he said "It was all full of naked women, and I can't draw convincing naked women. I put their knees in the wrong places."[2] It became one of only two Dr Seuss books, along with The Cat in the Hat Songbook, to be allowed to go out of print prior to 2021.[4][5] The remaining copies were remaindered in the chain of Schulte's Cigar Stores for twenty-five cents, though original editions now have been reported as selling at prices as high as $300.[3][6][7]

The book's initial failure has been attributed to several factors: at two dollars, it was priced relatively high for the Great Depression era.[3] Also, the book's depiction of nudity, though it was intended for adults and was very restrained, led to cold reception.

In 1974, Carolyn See wrote in Esquire that "America was feeling too blue to be cheered up by pictures of silly ladies".[7] Seuss said he tried to draw "the sexiest-looking women" he could, but they "came out just ridiculous".[1][8]

The failure of The Seven Lady Godivas, Seuss's fourth book, may well have led to his subsequent immersion into the world of children's literature. He stated that he would "rather write for kids", who were more appreciative, and was no longer interested in writing for adults.[3][9] Indeed, his general contempt for adults is evident in his oft-repeated quote: "Adults are obsolete children, and the hell with them."[8][9] When he eventually did publish a second book aimed at adults (You're Only Old Once!, in 1986), it was subtitled A Book for Obsolete Children.

Trivia[]

  • Lady Godiva is mentioned but does not make any physical appearance in the story.

Notes[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Template:Cite journal
  2. 2.0 2.1 Martin, Judith (1971), "Good times, rhymes pay Dr. Seuss richly" Boston Globe, Nov 21, 1971; pg. B_4
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Template:Cite news
  4. Morgan (1995), p. 193
  5. Template:Cite news
  6. Template:Cite book
  7. 7.0 7.1 Template:Cite journal
  8. 8.0 8.1 Template:Cite journal
  9. 9.0 9.1 Template:Cite web

References[]

  • Morgan, Judith; Morgan, Neil (1995). Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel. Random House. Template:ISBN.

See also[]

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