Also known as half- title. The extra page, in front of the title page, that bears the abbreviated title of the book. In the days when books were sold as unbound leaves, the half- title served as a “cover” for the protection of the true title page.
A bastard title is a book title that is not reflective of the book’s content, and is instead designed to generate interest or sales. This is often done by publishers who are looking to cash in on a trend, or by authors who are trying to sell their book to a specific audience. Bastard titles are often used in conjunction with marketing campaigns that are heavy on hype and light on substance.
A bastard title is a title given to a book that is not part of the original title sequence planned by the author or publisher. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as the author changing the direction of the book, the publisher changing the focus of the book, or the book being released out of order. The term is most often used in relation to series books, where the bastard title can cause confusion for readers who are trying to follow the chronological order of the series.
Bastard titles are not always a bad thing, and in some cases they can actually be helpful. For example, if an author is planning to write a trilogy but decides midway through the first book that it would work better as a duology, the publisher may change the title of the second book from Book 2 to The Second Book of the Duology, making it clear to readers that the series has been changed. In other cases, a bastard title can simply be a more accurate reflection of the book’s content than the original title. For example, if a book about a robot uprising is released out of order and ends up being the second book in the series, the publisher may change the title to The Robot Uprising, Book 2 to make it clear to readers where the book fits in the series.
Bastard titles can sometimes cause confusion for readers, so it’s important for authors and publishers to be clear about why a change has been made and what the new title means. In most cases, a bastard title is just a reflection of the book’s true content and should not be cause for alarm.