Gadsby. This bizarre book is a lipogram written in 1939 by the American Ernest Vincent Wright. The concept is the total absence of the letter “e” from all sentences on all pages. An article in the Oshkosh Daily 1937 wrote that the manuscript was “amazingly smooth. There are no halting parts. A continuity of plot and almost classic clarity obtains.”  Wright said in his introduction that “this story was written, not through any attempt to attain literary merit, but due to a somewhat balky nature, caused by hearing it so constantly claimed that ‘it can’t be done.'” He said he tied down the “e” key on his typewriter while completing the final manuscript. “This was done so that none of that vowel might slip in, accidentally, and many did try to do so!”

Gadsby is now in the Public Domain and can be downloaded as free pdf e-book here:

Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright

Listen to the entire book here