The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-29
THE LITERARY OUTLOOK.
CLOSING OF THE YEAR IN THE
BOOK WORLD.
Results ADMINISTRATION Increase.
Some of the Best BOOks-After the
style of Henley or stevenson.

Results Attnined-FictiOn Increase
Some of the Best BoOks-After the
style of Henley or Stevenson.
New York. Dec. 27.-There is al
ways something pathetic about the END
of the year in the book world 80
many literary regulations have talleo
in the making, so many hopes or large
book sales have been unrealized, so
many plans have come to dlsap-
pointing end, that the publisher looks
over his years work with more or re-
greet than of congratulation. All meth
DDS of the business are changing SO
rapidly that while, personally, every
one who issues books is glad of a GER
tain relief from the rush of trade and
the competition among hia Fellows,
that comes at this time of year, no
one of them dares to stop his LABOR OF
planning and scheming. Eternal vigil
lance is the price of successful books,
and the publisher who is able to sense
the situation and bring the large re-
turns which are waiting to come IN.
is the one whose vigilance is most
constant and his labors most unremit-
ing.
Reports of the years output or
books show that on an average three
books of fiction a day have been pup
lished-the total for the twelve months
lust closing being a tri1e over 1000.
Verse and belles-lettres follow with
one for each day of the year, and BIZ
ography and history are not far be-
hind. The wars in South Africa, China
and the Philippines resulted in almost
one hundred books. Nature BOOKS. IN
creased over the records OF former
years, and religion, philosophy and
science decreased in number. OF edu-
cational books there are fewer TINS
year and of new editions more than
were issued in 1900.
Taken altogether the situation is
hard to analyze. One leading publisher
expresses the opinion that the years
books show an alarming depreciation
in quality and a tremendous increase
in the number of readers of trashy nc
ton. Another, just as prominent in his
profession, says that the intelligence
of the reading public is growing rap
idly and that the publishers are train
ing up a class of book buyers who
formerly never thought of possessing
a library and who never thought of
reading the regular books.
III DOCK safes, the RECORDS are even
mere 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 characters sing faVorite hymns of
their grandmothers when these same
hymns were not written until long
after. the grandmothers were dead, and
otherwise mixes up facts of history,
the public does not seem to mind. More
grievous are the faults of another pop
ulaF 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 ana
chronisms are not the least of the
faults of the historical romances. The
public has demanded the "rattling tale
of adventure" and the writer's have
been trying to supply the demand, with
duels in every chapter. Cad Cooks"
and "Ods Blood" and such atmos-
pheric truisms of the time in which
the adventures are supposed to have
taken place.
The year has been productive, how
ever, in remarkable books, headed by
Kipling's story of the inner life of In
dia, Kim" Other novels we'll worth a
fame beyond the little day of most
books are:
The E"ergai City, CHall CaIre).
Circumstance, DR.. S. Weir Mitchell.
The Cavalier, George w. Cable).
Tristram of Blent, (Anthony Hope).
Cardigan (Robert w. Chambers).
The Right of Way Colbert Parker)
The Tory Lover (Sara Orne Jewet).
The Portion of Labor MARY Wilkins),
The Secret Orchard (Agnes and Egg
erton CASTLE.
The Crisis winston ChurchilD.
The House With the Great Shutters
George Douglass).
Marietta IF. Marion Crawford.
Sir Richard Calmady Gucas Malet)
In the list of miscellaneous works.
Jacob Riiss, THE Making of an Amer
ican," deserves 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 Wat
SOM.
James Russell Lowell CHorace Scud-
der).
Life of Stevenson Graham Balfour).
The year has witnessed the reprint
ing of more classics than any previous
twelve month.
The Pushkin prize, which is given nv
the Academy of Sciences at St. Peters
burg every other year. is noteworthy
this wear hecanea Tho