Editing I, Libertine (section)

== Publication ==
Bookstores became interested in carrying Ewing's novel, which allegedly had been [[banned in Boston]]. When publisher [[Ian Ballantine]], novelist [[Theodore Sturgeon]], and Shepherd met for lunch, Ballantine hired Sturgeon to write a novel based on Shepherd's outline. [[Betty Ballantine]] completed the final chapter after Sturgeon fell asleep, exhausted, on the Ballantines' couch, having tried to meet the deadline in one marathon typing session.

On September 13, 1956, [[Ballantine Books]] published ''I, Libertine'' simultaneously in [[hardcover]] and [[paperback]] editions with Shepherd pictured as Ewing, looking as dissolute as possible, on the back cover author's photograph. The proceeds from book sales were donated to charity.<ref>[http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/06/the-i-libertine.html An interview with Shepherd on the hoax from Long John Nebel's radio show], ''WFMU's Beware of the Blog'', June 25, 2008. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829164446/http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/06/the-i-libertine.html |date=August 29, 2008 }}.</ref> A few weeks before publication, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' officially "exposed" the hoax, already an [[open secret]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Henderson |first=Carter |title=Ballantine Books Makes Hoax Come True |url=//flicklives.com/Articles/Wall_Street_Journel/8-1-56/8-1-56.jpg |access-date= February 27, 2014 |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=August 1, 1956|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020427051336/http://flicklives.com/Articles/Wall_Street_Journel/8-1-56/8-1-56.jpg |archive-date= April 27, 2002 }}</ref>

=== Plot ===
''I, Libertine'' tells the story of a social climber who styles himself as Lance Courtenay. Most of the plot is closely based on the life of [[Elizabeth Chudleigh]]. An [[afterword]] states that "The story of Elizabeth Chudleigh is substantially true ...", which could easily be taken as being part of the hoax, ironically.<ref>T. H. White, ''The Age of Scandal'', [[Faber & Faber]], 2011, {{ISBN|978-0571274765}}.</ref>

=== Cover painting ===
The front [[Book cover|cover]] displays a quote: {{" '}}Gadzooks,' quoth I, 'but here's a saucy bawd!{{' "}}. The [[Cover art|cover painting]] by [[Frank Kelly Freas]] includes hidden images and [[In-joke|inside jokes]]: The sign on the tavern, Fish & Staff, has a [[Shepherd's crook|shepherd's staff]] and an image of a [[sturgeon]], referencing both Sturgeon and Shepherd. A portion of the word often spoken on the air by Shepherd – "Excelsior!" – can be seen on the paperback cover in a triangular area at extreme left, where it is part of the decoration on the [[Stagecoach|coach]] door. The entire word is visible on the hardcover [[dust jacket]], which features more of the [[illustration]].