When Books Go Bad

For the Reader Who Knows the Literary World Is Not Nearly as Civilised as It Looks

Behind the quiet shelves and tasteful author portraits lies centuries of feuds, fistfights, catastrophic misprints, stolen manuscripts, censored classics, and at least one book bound in something nobody wants to think about too hard. When Books Go Bad is a gleefully light-hearted tour through publishing's worst moments — the editorial disasters, the bitter rivalries, the snide acknowledgements, and the bad judgement calls that somehow made it to print.

Written by Alex Johnson — author of A Book of Book Lists and The Book Lover's Almanac for the British Library — this is the book for anyone who loves literature enough to enjoy watching it occasionally go spectacularly wrong.

Details

• A collection of publishing mishaps, literary feuds, and bookish bad behaviour
• Covers misprints, censorship, theft, curses, and author rivalries
• By Alex Johnson, author of multiple British Library titles on books and reading
• Hardback, published 2026

Perfect For

• The reader who loves literary gossip as much as literature itself
• A gift for the book lover with a dark sense of humour and a healthy distrust of authors
• Anyone who has ever wanted to know what really goes on behind the scenes in publishing