Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1900-11-24
POPl'LAE I;oMANCES
Have Now SuppIanted tn Railroad
Novel

Have Now Supplanted the Railroad
Novel
Not long ago. the words railroad
novel" had the same significance as the
yellow back" Of a decade previous. II
| meant sensation generally ~ m &c
tectivr order. Long series 81 THESE
railroad novels used To- be issued. They
treated. in a highly co!ored fashion. 81
detectives. train robbers. ana Indians,
ana some 81 them had a large sale
through many years. They were Il
class by themselves. says writer IN
the Saturday Evening Post. Seldom
ala they circulate outside ~ thu trains.
ana often they We're sold ana traded
again and again. They had most al
Turing rolors. Of course: some pretend
cd to less innocence than they possess
cd and such the train boys sold IN
whispers at an advanced price.
All that has been changed within
,h,. last few years. 1t is even hard 70
buy al old-fashionvd railroad novel"
aboard a train. They survive. Of
course. but only in a few time-worn
tales Of train robbers. Of which The
Life OF Jesse james ana The James
BOYS" are the most enduring ami the
most pouular. The novel is Stlll To be
found in the West and in canada; but
from the best regulated trains. Such
rs those on the through lines Of chi
20 il is almost as easy to buy prayer
book as a story OF train robbers.
People no longer ask for ~ SenSa-
tional stories with shamefaced looks
They are not interested any longer.
The lateS; popular romance is the book
called for. and. as "a matter of courS'-
il has suuplantei the detective storE
IL the esteem Nc the train boy
What Ne sell most nowadays. said
one of th, managers of the virtual mo-
uopolv through which the tr:tinb"Ns are
supplied ''arr good stories by good hu-
thorS- Anth"uy Hope. Mrs Humphrey
Ward ana Nil those people. Whatever
They write yru know IS bound Ia sell
50 when We hear of u'w book by a p"i'.
uldr author. v" just uui III our "r"rrS'
sure Of "a good sale When II comes !"
handling 4 new author. We take GIN put
fishers recommendations. They know M
much about the train trade as We 40.
pretty near If book takes well W.
push il. ii il d"vsn [. We dron y. VIZ
watch the newspapers, NJ course. and
when ~ SUI them taking wv y hu"k w.
tr,. utlick IA int it ou sale. We sell Lt,'-
thing We tind "a sal" f"r-it 1t r"Sp"|'
able. of course. yuJ know. And w find "A
better sale for good books than fer chr a.
ones.
Religions hooks ary carried IN M
trtin-hoyS Tho statesmen try always Z"
bc prepared for amy demand and M!
lind. they say. that good part Of th'
travelling public is religious. H"uc'', N"u
can buy Iihlc or Midnight IN \"W
York. uS il may chance ~ suit Nnhi
mood. Nnu can buy. also. the novels that
are for the day. ha wing the largest Stl'.
The way the old railroad novel uSv"
to the written. said a man in The t!'lu'.
today. Ills rather Interesting. mad IA
friend-hc is wen M III years n"w-wl"
made "a good thing ont of it. He uS'i I"
write the same stories over and over
again. varying tn" title. the names OF ne
characters and the treatment. 1t seemed
to 10 easy enough for hinl-cNccrt the
mechanical part. which WAS the rev. tS.'.
When h got Il tNpcwritinG machine II
was not nearly So hard. He could wiz
a novel q week then. He would get i
hazy notion for plot and let i dcN"lop
as he worked. Ten thousand words ="
called a hard days work. Whru nr m
ish.d his novel he was paid SOL for II by
Il Chicago publishing house. and that
was the end of il as far as ne was con-
cerned He WAS paid no royalties.
MANY Of these writers-thc writers ~
the old-tashioncd detective stories ~
sale on tho trains ana clscw hcrc-wori> in
an easier WAY now. They dictate to Il
stenographer for Il few hours Il .i;ty and.
when they have made It reputation vl,h
The class Of the reading public to winch
they appeal they have an easy tim" ~ II.