All rumors of the Sam Mendes-led Beatles biopic quartet have finally been quelled. It’s official: Barry Keoghan, Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, and Joseph Quinn will soon be scrubbing up on their Scouse. Given the excitement around the production(s), I’ve been slowly compiling a list of the many Beatles-adjacent titles published by Simon & Schuster over the decades. Some you might recognize: John Lennon’s In His Own Write, Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit, Beatles vs. Stones by John McMillian, Philip Norman’s definitive biographies of the Beatles (Shout) and George Harrison (The Reluctant Beatle). Others might be less familiar, such as a self-help guide entitled The Beatles Way that espouses Beatles-inspired wisdom to manifest Beatles-inspired success.
But none have baffled me more than The Walrus was Paul: The Great Death Clues by R. Gary Patterson, published by Touchstone in 1998. This book has led me through a warren of conspiracies and music lore. Here’s my report from the burrows: when the Beatles stopped touring in 1966, rumors spread that Paul McCartney had died in a car accident and been replaced by a look-alike. The Walrus Was Paul unearths Every. Single. Clue. in an effort to solve the mystery.
And what’s with the cover? Well…
I also offer you this explanation of the egg from the sales copy: “In the song ‘I Am the Walrus,’ John Lennon sings, ‘I am the eggman...I am the walrus’—and later, in the song ‘Glass Onion,’ we find out that, in fact, ‘the walrus was Paul.’” Obvious, right?
Finally, I must share my favorite detail from this weird and wonderful book: the languid walrus in the running head. May we all aspire to such persistent whimsy.
Hannah Brattesani is the flagship imprint’s Backlist Manager.