Evening star., 1901-11-23

BOOK puDilSnerS StdIIS are no" 'DAliHS
to he considered the approved means Of
supplying the reading pubic with regular
stock of matter. 1t is natural develop
ment The popular novelist appeals more
and more strongly to a distinct class. The
publisher who studies the desires Of this
class and seeks to meet them Will be con-
servative about changing the sources of
the supply. One consequence is that authors
are being pressed for more copy than per-
haps they would ordinarily produce. Their
market is certain for every particle of
composition. The faster they write the
quicker their bank accounts grow. The in
centive for continuous performance was
therefore never before so great. 1t has
been charged, in this connection. that some
of the more prolific of the story telers
work on the chain system. starting one
novel before another is finished. This is
especially pOssi in the case Of the writer's
of serials. which secure their vogue before
the midpoint is reached. The beginnings Of
such stories are the real tests of Dopulari-
ty Too often the novels thus produced are
rushed into book print prematurely, and
the smell of the machinery is strongly dis
cernible in many cases.
However. the public continues to davour
the output greedily. there is profit for both
author and publisher and the process con-
tnues apparently to the satisfaction of
everybody concerned. But the fact remains
that while some of those works necessarily
forge to the top of the lists of best sell
ers'-there must be always leaders in this
line, whatever the qualIty-the more critical
few of the public continue to deplOre the
nOn-appearance of that dream of the liter
airy patriot. the great American novel"
The conditions for its production seem to
be adverse They will perhaps remain ad-
verse until a combination is effected be-
tween worker ready with all the ma
terfals and an abundance of talent. who
has not 1-at rod r,la rIn1f -I1-
er's staff of producers and is willing for
get for the nOnce the chances of immediate
success. One of the most interesting ques
tiOnS in this connection is whether that
future achievement will be Immediately
recognized when it appears.
1t has long remained a striking feature OF
the associated lists of most popular books
regularly produced that novels predominant
in the book dealers reports more conspic
uously than in the returns of the librarians.
This indicates that the book buyers run
more strongly to fiction than do the book
readers, by the latter class meaning those
who seek the literature they specifically
need. One reason proposed for this fact
is that the noVel-reading tendency carries
with it a desire on the part of many people
to have the latest favOrite in the book
world as household appurtenance. 1t is
considered by some indication of
hnOkishness to have the best seller lying
carelessly upon the table in the sitting
room or reading room of the house. 1t
forms convenient focal point for cOnver-
SatiOn when other topics fail. 1t is held
sort of certificate of up-to-date-ness.
However, there may be other reasons. This
one is at least suggestive.
\ book IS projected in England which is
certain to have great vogue. whether 1t
reaches large sales or not. 1t is a volume
designed by King Edward to commemorate
the recently completed voyage of his eldest
son, the now Prince of Wales, in circIing
the British colonies. 1t is to be profuseIy
Illustrated by photographs taken by the
royal tourists. Naturally such a work will
not be placed on the market, but it will be
in great demand notwithstanding. 1t is
easy to imagine the pressure for copies
certain to come when the edition limit is
announced, almost equaling that of the
crowd to secure access to the ceremonies
of the coronation. The smack of royalty
is always attractive
Certain books will not lend themselves to
the prevailing disposition to dramatiZe the
favOrites such as the animal stories now
a conspicuous feature of the book world.
Thus this line of literature has its handi-
caps from pecuniary point of view. for
nowadays the popular author confidently
reckonS upon the returns from the box
office as he does upon those from the book
stalls Yet the animal author has his own
way OF securing extra remuneration, the
lecture platform. Given a reputation as
combined author artist, a fair personality
and a good advance agent, and there is
handsome side profit in such an enterprise.
This has been demonstrated in the case OF
Mr.. ThOmpson-SetOn who has materially
wldened his range by means of the stereOp-
ucon and the pointer. 1t is narrated that
one OF his most successful short stories of
animal life. that Of ridiculously pathetic
Little Johnny" the bear. made it's first
appearance on the screen in Iowa
EngIishmen are proverbiaily jealous or
the American use of the language common
to both nations. The other day a cable
gram from London reported that the ioI-
lowing paragraph had appeared in the
Evening News of that city:
In Chicago even the masterpiece Of lit
erature is not sacred Twenty misguided
inhabitants have just issued a translation
Of the New Testament into modern Amert-
can SUCH an atrocity almost makes one
sigh for few hours of the inquisition"
1t now proves that the misguided tndi-
viduals are all Englishmen, most of them
professors in the universities, that their
effort is severely English classic transla-
tion and that the scene of the outrage" is
New York, not poor. maligned Chicago
A novel certain to attract attention he
cause OF the authorship is making its
appearance. 1t is by T. Tecumseh Sher-
man, son Of the late General w T Sher-
man, who was elected to the board of alder
men in New York as a reformer from one
OF the toughest districts in the metropo-
lis during the wave OF 1897, when things A
went topsy-turvy. His book is called In
side the Machine and is said to describe
Mr. Sherman's unique experiences as a local
legislator under the most peculiar circuu,-
stances.
Richard Croker enjoys cartoons probably
as keenly as any other man in public life
even when they ridicule him. He has COL
lected about 800 of the best of those which
have appeared during recent years pre-
-senting his form and features and has had
them reproduced in volume intended for
private distribution among his friends
A new edition of Iockhart's Life of Sir
Walter Scott will shortly be issued in ten
volumes, with reproductions of a large num-
Der OF oil paintings which have depicted
scenes in ScOtt's life and in his stories
The Crisis, which remains at the top of
lists of popular books. is to have a new
monday dress, with frontispiece portrait
of the author.