The Modern Library on rare occasion changed the series number of a title, assigning that number to some other title. The following chart, based on data submitted by Modern Library stalwart Bill Hornick, shows the original and revised series numbers for the titles affected as well as the reason the change occurred. Thanks to Barry Neavill for supplying the info appearing in the Reason For Change column. |
| Author | Title | Old Number |
New Number |
Change Date | Reason For Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austen | Complete Novels | G8 |
G58 |
1945 |
Number needed when the Gibbon giant set went from two to three volumes
|
| Beerbohm | Zuleika Dobson | 50 |
116 |
1926 * |
Title was dropped in 1922 and its original number reassigned
|
| Buck | The Good Earth | 2 |
15 |
1943 |
Number needed for new Shakespeare set of 3
|
| Cellini | Autobiography | 3 |
150 |
1943 |
Number needed for new Shakespeare set of 3
|
| Confucius | Wisdom of Confucius | 7 |
306 |
1959 |
Number needed for Shakespeare renumbered 2-7
|
| Douglas | South Wind | 5 |
304 |
1959 |
Number needed for Shakespeare renumbered 2-7
|
| Henry | Best Short Stories | 4 |
26 |
1959 |
Number needed for new Shakespeare numbers 2-7
|
| Ibsen | Six Plays | 6 |
305 |
1959 |
Number needed for Shakespeare renumbered 2-7
|
| Kipling | Soldiers Three | 3 |
71 |
1927 |
Soldiers Three wasn't a strong seller. Speculating: ML may have wanted to give Cellini the #3 spot's visibility
|
| Lawrence | Sons and Lovers | 109 |
333 |
1962 ¶ |
Title was dropped in 1959 and its original number reassigned
|
| Misc. | Modern Library Dictionary | 4 |
1 |
1959 † |
Number needed for new Shakespeare numbers 2-7
|
| Porter | Flowering Judas | 88 |
284 |
1953 § |
Title was dropped in 1949 and its original number reassigned
|
| Shakespeare | Comedies Vol I | 2 |
4 |
1959 ∞ |
Shakespeare set renumbered to eliminate number/letter combos such as 2a
|
| Shakespeare | Comedies Vol II | 2a |
5 |
1959 ∞ |
Shakespeare set renumbered to eliminate number/letter combos such as 2a
|
| Shakespeare | Histories Vol I | 3 |
6 |
1959 ∞ |
Shakespeare set renumbered to eliminate number/letter combos such as 2a
|
| Shakespeare | Histories and Poems Vol II | 3a |
7 |
1959 ∞ |
Shakespeare set renumbered to eliminate number/letter combos such as 2a
|
| Shakespeare | Tragedies Vol I | 1 |
2 |
1959 ∞ |
Shakespeare set renumbered to eliminate number/letter combos such as 2a
|
| Shakespeare | Tragedies Vol II | 1a |
3 |
1959 ∞ |
Shakespeare set renumbered to eliminate number/letter combos such as 2a
|
| Wilde | Picture of Dorian Gray/De Profundis | 1 |
143 |
1943 |
Number needed for new Shakespeare set of 3 |