# Is there a name for this type of book title? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 5, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337 "2015-07-05T19:09:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/1 "2015-07-05T19:09:52Z")
There seems to be a lot of books with titles like: 1.\* The Miller’s Daughter\* 1. _The Astronaut’s Wife_ 2. _The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo._ 3. _The Girl on the Train._ Is there a name for this type of title? Where a character is identified by some characteristic? Are 1 & 2 different from 3 & 4? The first two are identified by their relationship to someone else. And finally, is it my imagination, or are there a lot more titles like this referring to women than there are referring to men? ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/2 "2015-07-05T19:54:57Z")
I think there were more titles like this about men in the past. **The Old Man and the Sea, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit,** etc. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/3 "2015-07-05T19:56:39Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I think there were more titles like this about men in the past. **The Old Man and the Sea, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit,** etc. Good observation, but I was thinking more about the first type: _The Wheelwright’s Son_ Were there a lot like that (I made that one up)? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/4 "2015-07-05T20:01:21Z")
I would bet the usual virtual wooden nickel that somewhere there is a thesis or dissertation exploring the history and nomenclature of such titles. Hasta be. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/5 "2015-07-05T20:03:46Z")
There’s probably a study about this, somewhere. (I’d look now, but time is short at the moment.) It’s a rather clever titling strategy, in that it offers a bit of plot right off the bat. For example, “The Stone” tells you that a stone is involved in some way, but “The Stone’s Wife” gets you wondering about several things (potentially): is The Stone a person, or an object, or an alien, or what? What is the backstory behind this marriage–is it an actual marriage, or a metaphor? What is going to happen to the marriage in the story itself? …And so on. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/6 "2015-07-05T20:04:54Z")
I think there’s one called “ **The Bible** ”, but I might be wrong about that. Don’t sweat it; beat them at their own game! Write a book called, “ **The Privileged Noun** ”… ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/7 "2015-07-05T20:25:23Z")
I offer a revised thread title: The Thread With The Golden Arm. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/8 "2015-07-05T20:35:20Z")
Several of these are books originally published in another language. Perhaps they had a pleasant sound in Swedish, et. al. Personally, I find these titles irritatingly unmemorable. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/9 "2015-07-05T22:39:52Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > And finally, is it my imagination, or are there a lot more titles like this referring to women than there are referring to men? There’s a hell of a lot of books called "The Man From … " ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/10 "2015-07-06T01:47:46Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > Several of these are books originally published in another language. Perhaps they had a pleasant sound in Swedish, et. al. > Personally, I find these titles irritatingly unmemorable. Actually, I find the titles very appealing in English. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/11 "2015-07-06T02:03:33Z")
So, books named after a specific person/character, but identifying that character by description rather than name? _The Man in the Iron Mask_ _The Man Who Was Thursday_ _The Magician’s Nephew_ and _The Horse and His Boy_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/12 "2015-07-06T02:18:30Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Are 1 & 2 different from 3 & 4? The first two are identified by their relationship to someone else. Interesting question. You could add _The French Lieutenant’s Woman_ to the list. I haven’t read the books in question. Are the protagonists the female characters - the daughter, the wife, the woman - who are supposedly the title’s subject? Or are the protagonists the male characters these women are defined by - the miller, the astronaut, the French lieutenant? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/13 "2015-07-06T13:53:48Z")
The Slugger’s Wife ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/14 "2015-07-06T16:46:29Z")
_The Time Traveler’s Wife_ ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/15 "2015-07-06T17:01:04Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > So, books named after a specific person/character, but identifying that character by description rather than name? > > _The Man in the Iron Mask_ > _The Man Who Was Thursday_ > _The Magician’s Nephew_ and _The Horse and His Boy_ The trouble with using the character’s name is that the name doesn’t mean anything to the readers, unless we’re talking about a series. “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” works as a title if we already know who Harry Potter is, and want to read a book about him. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-type-of-book-title/724337/16 "2015-07-06T17:05:48Z")
Generic description of a person (son, daughter, wife, girl, man) with only a little more specific qualifier. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a little more specific than the others in my mind. It is a good formula for titles, makes me want to find out the specifics. Obviously characteristics are different than relationships but it’s fine distinction on the general theme.