The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-29

sTM~ING-UP or THE YEARS RE-
SUITS IN THE BOOK WORLD.
An increase of secOnd-CIass Fiction,
but a Tendency TOwar "A Better
Grade of Literature.

ENNIENAAak NdNLENAE dUNuL AAt tAt4 VI AlE
year In the book world. So many literary
regulations have failed in the making. so
many hopes Of large book sales have been
unreallzed. so many plans have come TO a
Disappointing end that the publisher looks
over his years work with more of regret
than of generalization. All methods of the
business are changing so rapidly that.
while personally every one who issues
books is glad Of a certain relief from the
rush of trade and the competition among
his fellows that comes AT this time Of year,
no one of them dares 10 stop his labor of
planning and scheming- Eternal vigilance
is the price OF successful books, and the
publisher who is able to sense the situation
and bring the large returns which are wait
ing 90 come in is the one whose vigilance
IS most constant and his labors most unre-
uniting.
4 <
Reports Of the years output of books
show that on an average three books of
fiction a day have been published-the total
for the twelve months just closing being a
trihe over 1000. Verse and belles-lettres
follow, with one for each day of the year,
and biography and history are not far be-
hind. The wars In South Africa, China and
the Philippines resulted in almost one hun
dred books. Nature books increased over
the records of former years. and religion.
philosophy and science decreased in num-
Der. OF educational books there are fewer
this year and Of new editions more than
were issued in 1900.
Taken altogether the situation is hard
10 a~nalyze. One leading publisher ex-
presses the opinion that the years books
show an alarming depreciation in quality
and a tremendous increase in the number
of readers Of trashy fiction. Another. just
as prominent in his profession, says that
the intelligence of the reading public is
growing rapidly and that the publishers
are training up a class of book-buyers who
formerly never thought of possessing a
library and who never thought of reading
the regular books.
In book sales the records are even more
phenomenal than in 1900, though no one
book sold so many copies this year as
did David Harum'' last year. The
Crisis" no doubt leads the list this year,
and though the author makes his charac-
tiers sing favOrite hymns of their grand
mothers when these same hymns were not
written until long after the grandmothers
were dead. and otherwise mixes up facts
~ AAENDANs IA ANNtAk hNI0 - ~
mind. More g%rievous are the faults of
another popular book Of the year. .Dri
and l." Dri is a revolutionary character,
who smokes cigarettes and talks the slang
of the Bowery of to-day. But anachron-
isms are not the least of the faults of
the historical romances. The public has de-
manded the rafting tale of adventure"
and the writer's have been trying to supply
the demand. with duels in every chapter.
cad looks" and "Ods Bloodt" and such
atmospheric truisms OF the time in which
The adventure are supposed to have taken
place. e
The wear has been productive. however,
IN remarkable books. headed by Kipling S
story of the inner life of'India, kim.
other novels well worth a fame beyond the
little day of most books are:
The Eternal City. CHan Caine.)
Circumstance Dr. s. Weir MitchelI.)
The Cavalier. Geo. W. Cable)
Tristram of Blent. CAnthony Hope.)
Cardigan. Robert w. Chambers.)
The Right of Way. Colbert Parker.)
The Tory Lover. (Sara Orne Jewett)
The Portion of Labor. MARY Wilkins.)
The Secret Orchard. (Agnes and Egertor
CastleD
The Crisis. winston Churchin)
The House with the Great Shutters
George Douglass)
Marietta. OF. Marion CrawfOrd.)
Sir Richard Calmady, lucas Malet)
In the list of miscellaneous works. jacob
Riis's. 'The Making of An American de
serves one Of the leading places. and among
the best to follow are:
The Life and Letters of Richard Green.
Lives of the Hunted. ernest Seton
ThOmpsOn)
Life OF the Master. CDR. John Watson)
James Russell Lowell, CHorace Scudder.)
Life Of Stevenson. Graham BalfouT)
The year has witnessed the reprintini
of more classics than any previous twelv'
month.
The Pushkin prize, which is given by tn
Academy OF Science at St. PETERSBURG
every other year. is noteworthy this year
because the first prize Of 1000 roubles wa
voted to a Russian. for hi
translation of Shakespeare, upon which h
Iabored for thirty years. The second priz
was divided into two sums Of 500 rouble
each. one-haIf of which was allotted to Q
Tschjumin for her translation of English
German and French lyrical poems int
Russian and for her Russian rendering o
Millions Paradise Lost and "Paradis
Retained S-tanjukovitch. who receive
the other half. was for some years an OF
fcer In the navy. and won 500 rOubles b
his two voIumes OF Sea Stories" tales an
sketches of life on board a Russian war
shin. which are said to be both popular an
OF high literary merit
During this year the largest price eve
paid for a single volume was paid for III
Codex Psalterum. which was purchase
by J.. r. Morgan. The amount exceeds Onl
by a little the price paid for a fine velluI
COPY Of the same book in 1SS4-e4.950. tt
purchaser in this case was an agent VIII,
in the first part OF. the sale, was acting fo
an American. but the bidding passed III
Americans limit. and the agent purchase
the book on The chance that he might sc
II at a private sale to advantage. A cop
OF this work. issued On 1850. is the chi'
literary treasure in the Royal Library
Windsor.
In England. the academy recently mao
an attempt ar arriving at a Judgment
the best books Of the year by requestin
several persons 10 name two books rea
during the year with pleasure and inte1
est The answers brought "A variety
oninion and few OF recently publishe