Alternative title (publishing)

An alternative title or alternate title in book publishing refers to a title that is presented alongside the primary title. It often uses a semi-colon or the term "or" in book titles, typically seen in the form "Title: or, Subtitle."^[1][2] This was a practice that started in the 17th century, and was common in both English and American literature. During this period, many books aimed to appeal to a broader audience by using more descriptive subtitles.^{[citation needed]}

As an example, Mary Shelley gave her most famous novel the title Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, where or, The Modern Prometheus is the alternative title, by which she references the Greek Titan as a hint of the novel's themes.^[3] More examples are On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life and Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. This is contrasted to a subtitle, which is a portion of the title itself.^[1] The subtitle is considered to add extra explanation for the title.^[4]

This convention started to decline in the 19th century as book titles became more concise and marketing strategies evolved.^[4]

When Scholastic Corporation bought the U.S. rights to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, they thought that a child would not want to read a book with the word "philosopher" in the title and,^[5] after some discussion, the American edition was published in September 1998^[6] under the title author J. K. Rowling suggested, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.^[7] Rowling claimed that she regretted this change and would have fought it if she had been in a stronger position at the time.^[8] Academic Philip Nel, who specialises in children's literature, has pointed out that the change lost the connection with alchemy.^[relevant?]