After more than a thousand actions attempting to ban books in schools and libraries in 26 American states over the past year, Penguin Random House has released a fireproof edition of Margaret Atwood’s most famous novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, which was already out the goal of censorship attempts to create a patriarchal dystopia.
The 82yearold Canadian author appears in a video posted to the publisher’s YouTube channel and ignites a copy of the book with a flamethrower. The action is part of a campaign against censorship. The copy will be auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York until June 7, with proceeds going to Pen America, an organization that fights to defend freedom of expression. At the time this note was published, the top bid for the copy was $42,000.
“Across the United States and around the world, books are being challenged, banned, and even burned. That’s why we created a special edition of the work that has been contested and banned for decades,” the editor wrote on the campaign’s promotional page.
“This edition of Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is printed and bound with fireproof material and is absolutely noncombustible. It was produced to protect this vital story and will be a powerful symbol against censorship.”
According to the American Library Association, The Handmaid’s Tale is among the most persecuted and banned books in schools across the country. Published in 1985, the work is a dystopia set in an authoritarian regime that has taken over the United States and makes women its preferred victims.
When a district banned his novel in 2006, Atwood wrote an open letter responding to allegations that the novel was offensive to Christians. “Nowhere in the book is the regime identified as Christian,” the author said. Regarding the allegations against the sex scenes contained in the work, she said that the book was “less interested in sex than much of the Bible”.
Atwood’s book gained greater notoriety through the television adaptation starring Elisabeth Moss. Launched in 2017, the series received multiple awards including the Emmy for Best Drama.