Dedications

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This weekend I sat down to write my dedication for Peter Nimble. This is something I have mulled over quite a bit in the last few years.  Like naming my (imaginary) boat or drawing my (non-existant) tattoo, wording my first dedication was a flight of fancy.  When my editor told to submit something by Monday, I completely clammed up.  The fantasy had become a reality, and I was terrified of blowing it.  Should I write something intimate and cryptic?  Something sweet and funny?  Something in keeping with the tone of the book? Of course, it doesn't really matter to a reader what I write.  Readers are interested in the story, not in a few words opposite the copyright page.  But every once in a while, I see a dedication that makes a book come alive -- something that makes me long to know the author personally, and slightly jealous of the lucky dedicatee.[1. Bet you didn't think that was a word.]  With the spectre of those great dedications in mind, I started browsing my bookshelf, thumbing through examples that really stuck in my memory.  Here are a few of my favorites:

A.A. Milne - Winnie-the-Pooh

As I've mentioned before, this whole book is adorable from start to finish.  The dedication is no exception ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jerome K. Jerome - The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow: a Book for an Idle Holiday

So far as I'm concerned, Jerome does not get his due.  He is a truly funny writer, as exhibited by this delightful dedication to his beloved pipe ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C.S. Lewis - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I'm not the biggest fan of this installment of the Narnia series (more of a Magician's Nephew kind of guy), but the dedication at the front is hard not to love.[2. Unless you're Philip Pullman, that is.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G.K. Chesterton - The Man Who Was Thursday

This is a long poem written for Chesterton's childhood friend, Edmund Clerihew Bentley.  I think Chesterton is someone best taken in small doses, which would explain why this dedication is better than the book itself!

 

 

 

Adam Gidwitz - A Tale Dark and Grimm

And finally comes this newer edition to the canon of great dedications, which made me laugh out loud in the bookstore:

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those interested in reading more about dedications, there's an essay collection called Once Again to Zelda that tells the story being fifty famous dedications; the book got mixed reviews, but still might be worth checking out.  Also, feel free to put down your own favorite literary dedications in the comments section.

As for what I wrote in Peter Nimble?  You'll have to wait and see.

 

UPDATE: readers chimed in with their own favorite dedications here.