Daughter of Heth; novel, by W. Black. London, 1874. 3 v. O.
The reason is that novels are known more by their titles than by their authors’ names. Whether to make an entry or a reference depends on the space at command. An entry means giving the book-marks for every edition. With a reference this may be done; but a reference without them obliges the reader to turn to the author-entry for such details, which is objectionable. It is better to give all the book-marks with the title.
If the name of the hero or heroine enters into the title the entry should be made under that; ex., David Copperfield, Life and adventures of, by C. Dickens.
76. When a title begins with an article, the heading of a first-word entry or reference is the word following the article.
Ex. Centaur, The, not fabulous, not The centaur not fabulous. The entry has commonly been made under the first word “not an article or preposition.” But it is found to work badly to except the preposition in the titles of novels and plays, and it is awkward to omit or transpose it in any case. One reason for excepting the article—that there would be an immense accumulation of titles under the unimportant words A, The, Le, Der, Uno, etc.—is not so strong in the case of prepositions; the other—that it is difficult to remember with what article a given title begins—hardly applies at all to prepositions. The preposition is full as likely to fasten itself in the {42} memory as the word that follows it. The strongest argument in favor of confining preposition-entry to fiction and the drama is that in other cases the word following the preposition will probably be a subject-word, so that one entry will do the work of two. This will occasionally be true, but not often enough, I think, to make much difference.
77. When a foreign phrase is used as an English title, refer from the article as well as from the following word.
Ex. El Fureidis should have references to Cummins both under E and F; L’arratiata both under L’ and A to Heyse.
78. When a title begins with a word expressive of the number which the work holds in a series the first-word entry or reference is to be made under the next word.
Ex. Collection of papers, 8th, not Eighth collection. Letter, 1st and 2d, to the Ministry, not First letter, etc., under F, and Second letter under S. When the numeral comes after a word like Book or Part (as frequently in Latin after Liber, Pars, Tomus, Volumen) both are to be neglected and the word following put into the nominative and used as a heading; e. g., “Pars prima epistolarum” is to be entered under Epistolæ. Similarly Evening, Morning, Daily, and Weekly should be disregarded in titles of newspapers, otherwise we should have the morning edition at one end of the catalogue and the evening at the other. So “Appendix to,” “Continuation of” “Supplement to” (but not “Reply to”), are to be disregarded when they are followed by the title of the work continued. “Reply to” and similar beginnings are to be put under Reply, etc., with a subject-entry under the author of the work replied to.
79. When the first word of a title is spelled unusually, all the editions should be entered under the word spelled in the modern or correct way, with a reference from the form adopted in the title.