The Story of the Amulet, by E. Nesbit

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François Grandjean

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Mar 8, 2021, 12:37:52 AM3/8/21
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David Grigg

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Mar 8, 2021, 6:32:31 AM3/8/21
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Here's my suggestion for the cover, feel free to choose something else! It's based on the chapter where the children are in the court of the King and Queen of Babylon and get into a lot of trouble:

"‘Give us the half of the Amulet that has on it the name UR HEKAU SETCHEH,’ he said, adding as an afterthought, ‘O King, live-for-ever.’ 

As he spoke the great name those in the pillared hall fell on their faces, and lay still. All but the Queen who crouched amid her cushions with her head in her hands, and the King, who stood upright, perfectly still, like the statue of a king in stone. It was only for a moment though. Then his great voice thundered out—

‘Guard, seize them!’

amulet.jpg

PD proof is here: https://archive.org/details/illustratedcatal00artg/page/n21/mode/2up

What do you think?

David Grigg

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Mar 8, 2021, 6:34:08 AM3/8/21
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Sorry, that was a bad screen grab! But you can do your own crop. The original is here in nice high resolution:

François Grandjean

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Mar 8, 2021, 9:54:15 AM3/8/21
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Rather nice. I had already looked at some paintings with a Babylonian theme, but hadn't found anything satisfactory. I'll probably end up using it if Alex gives his okay.

Thanks, David!

Alex Cabal

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Mar 8, 2021, 2:38:57 PM3/8/21
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That works, thanks!

On 3/8/21 5:34 AM, David Grigg wrote:
> Sorry, that was a bad screen grab! But you can do your own crop. The
> original is here in nice high resolution:
>
> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_Edward_John_Poynter_-_The_visit_of_the_Queen_of_Sheba_to_King_Solomon_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
>
> On Monday, 8 March 2021 at 22:32:31 UTC+11 David Grigg wrote:
>
> Here's my suggestion for the cover, feel free to choose something
> else! It's based on the chapter where the children are in the court
> of the King and Queen of Babylon and get into a lot of trouble:
>
> "‘Give us the half of the Amulet that has on it the name UR HEKAU
> SETCHEH,’ he said, adding as an afterthought, ‘O King, live-for-ever.’
>
> As he spoke the great name those in the pillared hall fell on their
> faces, and lay still. All but the Queen who crouched amid her
> cushions with her head in her hands, and the King, who stood
> upright, perfectly still, like the statue of a king in stone. It was
> only for a moment though. Then his great voice thundered out—
>
> ‘Guard, seize them!’
>
> <https://github.com/Gragt/e-nesbit_the-story-of-the-amulet>
>
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François Grandjean

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Mar 12, 2021, 2:06:48 AM3/12/21
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Question time!

This book features a small number of illustrations that are part of the story (diagrams and alien script) and I assume they should be included.

Is there a specific way on how to proceed with those? I’ve gathered that images should be converted to SVG and included with the <figure> tag, and listed in the LoI, but I couldn’t find much else about how to prepare them.

I’ve checked other books and so have a a general idea on how to include them but any tips would be welcome. I’d rather ask before I start to work on this and waste time.

David Grigg

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Mar 12, 2021, 3:30:16 AM3/12/21
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I’m happy to help. Most people seem to rely on Inkscape to generate SVGs, but I use a Mac app called Vectoriser. 
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Vince

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Mar 12, 2021, 2:25:30 PM3/12/21
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David gave me an excellent set of instructions a couple of years ago when I needed help. If it seems like a lot of work … well, it is. It is semi-Mac specific, but almost everything is either available on Windows or the equivalent is.

1) I start with the best, highest resolution image I can get.

2) I open it in an image editor (for me, that's Acorn, but most image editors have similar functions) and apply a grayscale filter, tweaking the settings as needed to get the best looking result. Clean it up manually if necessary to get rid of speckles and fill in obviously broken lines.

3) I use a program called Image Vectorizer which is in the Mac app store. It costs a few dollars, but it's well worth it. http://www.image-vectorizer.com . Drop the image in here and click on the Vectorize button, then export the SVG result. If you don’t want to buy it, there’s a free command line tool called potrace (which Image Vectorizer drives behind the scenes)

4) You're not done yet! The result tends to be poorly optimised . So I run the SVG image through a tool called SVGO (SVG Optimiser). This is a free command line tool. (https://github.com/svg/svgo). However, as a first stage, I run my SVG through an online version of that tool: SVGOMG (https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/) which makes life a lot simpler. Attached is a screenshot showing the settings I use. Thankfully, SVGOMG retains these between sessions.

5) You’re not done yet! SVGOMG does most of the work, but sometimes still leaves the SVG in a state which has features which we don't want, like transforms. So I use this command-line option (after having installed the SVGO command-line tool:

svgo -i image.svg --enable convertTransform -o image_opt.svg

6) You’re almost there! But not quite. You’ll need to open the SVG in a text editor (I use BBEdit, but any plain-text editor will work). Edit the start of the SVG so it looks something like this:

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"; version="1" viewBox="0 0 489 764">
<title>A white rabbit wearing a waistcoat stands upright consulting a pocket-watch.</title>

<path … etc

The key here is to simplify the viewbox parameters to integers, and put in a descriptive title, which should describe the image for blind or partially-sighted readers and end in a period. Save the file back to disk, making sure it retains the .svg extension.

7) You’re done!

François Grandjean

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Mar 12, 2021, 2:29:11 PM3/12/21
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Alright, thank you, both of you. I’ll try and figure it out on my end, and ask for help when I’ve got something specific. How difficult can it be? (Ha!)

Another question: do we semanticate names of fictitious books and newspapers? I assume we do, but I want to make sure.

B Keith

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Mar 12, 2021, 3:00:58 PM3/12/21
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Another question: do we semanticate names of fictitious books and newspapers? I assume we do, but I want to make sure.

Yes we do.
_________

Guadeamus igitur iuvenes dum sumus

On Mar 12, 2021, at 12:29 PM, François Grandjean <francois....@gmail.com> wrote:

Alright, thank you, both of you. I’ll try and figure it out on my end, and ask for help when I’ve got something specific. How difficult can it be? (Ha!)


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François Grandjean

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Mar 12, 2021, 11:35:03 PM3/12/21
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Thanks!

François Grandjean

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Mar 15, 2021, 12:57:48 AM3/15/21
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I think I’m getting the hang of things concerning illustrations—until I discover everything went wrong, that is. I’m on Fedora so have access to the tools mentioned above with the exception of Vectorizer, so it isn’t too bad.

There is one case where I’m not quite sure on how to proceed: one of the diagrams is a very small image, looks like an inverted V, and appears in a line of text. I could of course vectorise the symbol and insert it inside the paragraph but I’m not sure it’s allowed in our workflow. If anyone wants to check, it can be found on p. 371 of the scans (https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Story_of_the_Amulet/K_MdAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA371&printsec=frontcover).

And option could be to have it appear between lines, like other figures, but I’m not sure.

By the way, the pages don’t display on the website, but I’ve downloaded the PDF and it works fine.

Vince

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Mar 15, 2021, 1:05:12 AM3/15/21
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That looks like, i.e. similar to, a capital Greek Lambda, e.g. Λ. Up to Alex whether that would be OK.

You mean the pages of the scans don’t display? They look fine to me. Or some other pages?

François Grandjean

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Mar 15, 2021, 1:08:09 AM3/15/21
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You’re right! I hadn’t thought of that. That would work. My Greek teacher would kill me if she ever hears of this!

Yes, I meant that only the top of the pages display for me on the website. It seems to affect only me, but since I prefer to have the PDF open, it isn’t much of a hassle.

Alex Cabal

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Mar 15, 2021, 11:30:55 AM3/15/21
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I don't think it's a lambda because it's bold and sans serif, making it
more like an illustration than a character in the text's typeface.
You're right, you should vectorize it and inline it in the text, nothing
wrong with that. You may not even have to vectorize the page scan it per
se, it's so basic that you could create a new drawing to approximate it.
>>> <http://www.image-vectorizer.com/> . Drop the image in
>>> here and click on the Vectorize button, then export the
>>> SVG result. If you don’t want to buy it, there’s a free
>>> command line tool called potrace (which Image Vectorizer
>>> drives behind the scenes)
>>>
>>> 4) You're not done yet! The result tends to be poorly
>>> optimised . So I run the SVG image through a tool called
>>> SVGO (SVG Optimiser). This is a free command line tool.
>>> (https://github.com/svg/svgo
>>> <https://githubcom/svg/svgo>). However, as a first stage,
>>> I run my SVG through an online version of that tool:
>>> SVGOMG (https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/
>>> <https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/>) which makes
>>> life a lot simpler. Attached is a screenshot showing the
>>> settings I use. Thankfully, SVGOMG retains these between
>>> sessions.
>>>
>>> 5) You’re not done yet! SVGOMG does most of the work, but
>>> sometimes still leaves the SVG in a state which has
>>> features which we don't want, like transforms. So I use
>>> this command-line option (after having installed the SVGO
>>> command-line tool:
>>>
>>> svgo -i image.svg --enable convertTransform -o image_opt.svg
>>>
>>> 6) You’re almost there! But not quite. You’ll need to
>>> open the SVG in a text editor (I use BBEdit, but any
>>> plain-text editor will work). Edit the start of the SVG
>>> so it looks something like this:
>>>
>>> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
>>> <http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22>; version="1" viewBox="0 0
>>> 489 764">
>>> <title>A white rabbit wearing a waistcoat stands upright
>>> consulting a pocket-watch.</title>
>>> <path … etc
>>>
>>> The key here is to simplify the viewbox parameters to
>>> integers, and put in a descriptive title, which should
>>> describe the image for blind or partially-sighted readers
>>> and end in a period. Save the file back to disk, making
>>> sure it retains the .svg extension.
>>>
>>> 7) You’re done!
>>
>>>> UTC+11francois....@gmail.com <http://gmail.com/>wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> > No great surprise: let’s complete the series.
>>
>>
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François Grandjean

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Mar 15, 2021, 3:24:35 PM3/15/21
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Right, I’ve done just that. It was actually much simpler than expected and looks closer to the book than using a capital lambda.

I haven’t added any captions for diagrams because they do not seem to warrant it. The original scans do feature captions for the story illustrations but not the diagrams. Should I copy the full text of the alt attribute or is it okay to shorten it? For example, there is a simple diagram of the sacred place in Chapter 5 which I describe in the alt, but it would be more concise in the LoI if something like “The sacred place” were used instead.

Alex Cabal

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Mar 15, 2021, 4:15:24 PM3/15/21
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Can you send a link to the page scan for what you're referring to?
> <https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Story_of_the_Amulet/K_MdAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA371&printsec=frontcover>).
> >>> <http://www.image-vectorizer.com/
> <http://www.image-vectorizer.com/>> . Drop the image in
> >>> here and click on the Vectorize button, then export the
> >>> SVG result. If you don’t want to buy it, there’s a free
> >>> command line tool called potrace (which Image Vectorizer
> >>> drives behind the scenes)
> >>>
> >>> 4) You're not done yet! The result tends to be poorly
> >>> optimised . So I run the SVG image through a tool called
> >>> SVGO (SVG Optimiser). This is a free command line tool.
> >>> (https://github.com/svg/svgo <https://github.com/svg/svgo>
> >>> <https://githubcom/svg/svgo <https://githubcom/svg/svgo>>).
> However, as a first stage,
> >>> I run my SVG through an online version of that tool:
> >>> SVGOMG (https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/
> <https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/>
> >>> <https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/
> <https://jakearchibald.github.io/svgomg/>>) which makes
> >>> life a lot simpler. Attached is a screenshot showing the
> >>> settings I use. Thankfully, SVGOMG retains these between
> >>> sessions.
> >>>
> >>> 5) You’re not done yet! SVGOMG does most of the work, but
> >>> sometimes still leaves the SVG in a state which has
> >>> features which we don't want, like transforms. So I use
> >>> this command-line option (after having installed the SVGO
> >>> command-line tool:
> >>>
> >>> svgo -i image.svg --enable convertTransform -o image_opt.svg
> >>>
> >>> 6) You’re almost there! But not quite. You’ll need to
> >>> open the SVG in a text editor (I use BBEdit, but any
> >>> plain-text editor will work). Edit the start of the SVG
> >>> so it looks something like this:
> >>>
> >>> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg
> <http://www.w3.org/2000/svg>"
> >>> <http://www.w3.org/2000/svg%22
> <http://groups.google.com/d/msgid/standardebooks/9af4e966-8bc3-4baf-a6d2-5cf3f4b06d77n%40googlegroups.com>
>
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François Grandjean

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Mar 15, 2021, 8:16:26 PM3/15/21
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Sure. Might as well list the others because it is a short list:

And then there is the symbol we’ve already discussed in the last chapter.

The way I understand it, the hieroglyphs and the symbol shouldn’t be part of the LoI but the other three should be.

Alex Cabal

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Mar 15, 2021, 8:22:26 PM3/15/21
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You don't need captions for any of those. Typically we only use captions
if they're there in the original. The alt text is important though. I
think you're right about what to include in the LoI. If it would be
helpful for the reader to jump back and inspect an image then it should
be in the LoI.

On 3/15/21 7:16 PM, François Grandjean wrote:
> Sure. Might as well list the others because it is a short list:
>
> * First diagram is
> here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Story_of_the_Amulet/K_MdAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA46&printsec=frontcover
> * Hieroglyphs: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Story_of_the_Amulet/K_MdAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA53&printsec=frontcover
> * Second diagram (the one I talked about in my previous
> message): https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Story_of_the_Amulet/K_MdAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA103&printsec=frontcover
> * Inscription: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Story_of_the_Amulet/K_MdAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA175&printsec=frontcover
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François Grandjean

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Mar 15, 2021, 8:35:58 PM3/15/21
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Then it is as I thought. I had written the alt text so it describes the images; I’m just concerned that using the alt text in the LoI would be too long.

As an example, here is what I wrote for the second diagram—granted, I’m not the best when it comes to writing descriptions:

A diagram of the sacred place. It consists of two concentric circular shapes. The outer one has a small opening at the bottom and the inner one is similarly open at the top. In the middle of the whole structure is a small, complete circle with several lines.

Alex Cabal

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Mar 15, 2021, 9:52:01 PM3/15/21
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François Grandjean

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Mar 15, 2021, 9:54:45 PM3/15/21
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I guess we keep it as it is, then. :)

Thanks!

François Grandjean

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Mar 31, 2021, 1:49:43 AM3/31/21
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Alright, I believe that The Story of the Amulet is ready for review.


I had hoped to be done last week, but proofreading the book highlighted problems with the transcriptions, mainly incorrect paragraph breaks. Even after the proofread, I decided to compare my files with the scans. It took time but it was worth it because I found many more things to fix.

A few things to pay attention to while reviewing it:
  • This is my first production with illustrations. I think I did rather decently, thanks to the help I’ve received, but it will help to have someone check them.
  • There is a blockquote in Chapter 1 that I had originally semanticated as song, but eventually decided to revert to a normal blockquote because it doesn’t really look like song or verse. I can easily revert the change if needed.
  • I’ve added David as producer for cover selection (cov). That seems fair because he did the work of finding and clearing it while I merely accepted it and cropped it.
  • There is an editorial change related to names in two dialogues in Chapter 7. The commit (f4fed8) message explains it in details but basically it’s the same character replying to himself—the transcription even attempted to fix one of these but it didn’t really work. The changes make more sense, but I can easily revert it if needed. I thought of adding a production note about it but didn’t because it is already part of the commit history and labelled as [Editorial].

David Grigg

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Mar 31, 2021, 2:17:11 AM3/31/21
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Alex, I’m happy to review this, being another Nesbit fan.
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David Grigg

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Mar 31, 2021, 5:04:32 AM3/31/21
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Regarding the blockquote in Chapter 1, I believe it should be semanticated as z3998:verse. I figured it had to be a quote, or a part quote from somewhere, and I found it. It's out of a parody play in the style of Shakespeare, in Punch Magazine:

François Grandjean

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Mar 31, 2021, 10:12:01 AM3/31/21
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Ah! So that’s what it was! I had a feeling it was that kind of thing, but I couldn’t locate it to confirm it.

Changed and pushed.

Alex Cabal

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Mar 31, 2021, 11:46:59 AM3/31/21
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Sure, go ahead and let me know when it's ready to go. Thanks!

On 3/31/21 1:16 AM, David Grigg wrote:
> Alex, I’m happy to review this, being another Nesbit fan.
> On 31 Mar 2021, 4:49 PM +1100, François Grandjean
> <francois....@gmail.com>, wrote:
>
> Alright, I believe that /The Story of the Amulet/ is ready for review.
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David Grigg

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Mar 31, 2021, 9:25:23 PM3/31/21
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This all looks very good, very nice work. The only things I picked up on were in the long description. I think there needs to be a space between the initials of H. G. Wells and C. S. Lewis. I also personally thought the Doctor Who reference at the end of the description was a bit too far of a stretch, and Alex may want to comment on that. 

Other than those minor things, it is good to go. Wonderful to have the whole Psammead trilogy in our catalog!

Regards,

David
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François Grandjean

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Mar 31, 2021, 10:14:40 PM3/31/21
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Thank you very much, David!

I’ve already correct the missing spaces between initials in the long description (oops!).

Regarding the Doctor Who reference, I admit the link isn’t as obvious as with C. S. Lewis and Narnia, but I did find that the children’s adventures in different civilisations shared similarities with Classic Doctor Who episodes, especially on the educational aspect—this book does contain a fair amount of details of the ancient world. I found it intriguing enough to mention it, even more so because this isn’t something that others have talked about. That said, if you, and possibly Alex as well, find that it should be left out, I’ll remove it without problems.

David Grigg

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Mar 31, 2021, 10:14:51 PM3/31/21
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François: Just one important issue I realised that I didn’t address:

Regarding your last comment on the Editorial commit f4fed8 , I think making this sort of change is very dangerous. We can’t know what the author’s intention was, even if she has made a mistake. The mistake is part of the historical text. I think you should revert this and make these passages match the page scans. Alex may want to weigh in, but that’s what I would recommend.

François Grandjean

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Mar 31, 2021, 10:27:02 PM3/31/21
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To be honest, I realised that after I submitted it here I should have asked about it before making the change. I went ahead with it because I saw that the transcription had already made a similar change, but it was still confusing enough to make me check the scans—which is how I discovered the modification in the first place. I had highlighted a long list of things to check while proofreading, this one was part of it, and I was in the flow. Probably not the best call, but I made sure it would be easily visible in the history and easy to reverse.

I definitely see your point—and I really appreciate it. I believe it these two dialogues work better this way, but it does change the original text. I’ll revert it for now, and if Alex thinks it is worth keeping it can be re-reverted again.

David Grigg

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Mar 31, 2021, 11:03:10 PM3/31/21
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OK, well from my point of view it's over to Alex to approve.

Alex Cabal

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Apr 1, 2021, 12:11:45 PM4/1/21
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This is something that might have been corrected in later editions, if
it was actually an error. Can you find scans of later editions to check?

You mention PG made similar changes, what exactly did they do?
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François Grandjean

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Apr 1, 2021, 4:49:18 PM4/1/21
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I just checked a recent edition through the Internet Archive. It seems the change in the PG transcription indeed comes from there.

Here is the original passage from the scans, where Cyril asks then answers himself, and Anthea acts on it. That’s the current state on the repo:

“ What was that name the Queen said ? ” asked Cyril suddenly . “ Nisbeth - Nesbit- something ? You know, the slave of the great names ? ”
“ Wait a sec,” said Cyril, “ though I don't know why you want it. Nusroch - Nisrock - Nisroch — That's it."
Then Anthea pulled herself together. […]
“ UR -HEKAU SETCHEH ," she cried in a fervent voice. “ Oh, Nisroch , servant of the Great Ones, come and help us !”

Later editions (and PG transcription) changed the second line to:

“ Wait a sec,” said Robert, […]

Even if it less nonsensical, I do find it confusing to have Cyril ask, Robert answer, and Anthea act on it seemingly out of the blue. That’s what made me check that dialogue in the scans in the first place.

My change (since reverted) was to go back to the original and change the first line:

“ What was that name the Queen said ? ” asked Anthea suddenly . […]
“ Wait a sec,” said Cyril, […]

My reasoning was that it made more sense for Anthea to ask, get the answer from Cyril, and then act on it.

And the second problematic dialogue later in the same chapter. Here is the original passage, identical in scans, transcription, and later edition:

“ Look here !” he [Cyril] said quickly , as the sound of her boots grew less loud on the stairs, “ don't let's tell her about the dungeon and all that. It'll only frighten her so that she'll never want to go anywhere else .”
“ Righto !” said Cyril ; but Anthea felt that she could not have said a word to save her life .

My proposed change on the second line (since reverted):

“ Righto !” said Robert […]

Let me know if you need me to do anything. The repo currently mirrors the scans.


Alex Cabal

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Apr 1, 2021, 5:58:53 PM4/1/21
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François Grandjean

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Apr 1, 2021, 6:47:57 PM4/1/21
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Alright. Done and pushed.

Sorry about the mess. I’ll be more careful in the future.

Alex Cabal

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Apr 1, 2021, 7:48:21 PM4/1/21
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This ebook was produced by François Grandjean. Thanks François!

Ebook URL:
https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/e-nesbit/the-story-of-the-amulet

GitHub URL:
https://github.com/standardebooks/e-nesbit_the-story-of-the-amulet

Alex Cabal

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Apr 1, 2021, 7:49:09 PM4/1/21
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OK, everything looks good and I've gone ahead and released it. Very good
long description and cover choice. Thanks!
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