Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-01-04

| snow that on an average three books OF
fiction day have been published-the
total for the twelve months just clos
ing being a trif1e over 1000. Verse and
4 belleSlettres follow with one for each
day of the year, and biography and
history are not far behind. The wars
in South Africa, China and the Philip
pines resulted in almost one hundred
books. Nature books increased over
the records of former years, and re-
lislon, philosophy and science de-
creased in number. OF educational
books there are fewer this year and of
new editions more than were issued in
1900.
Taken altogether the situation is
nard to analyZe. One leading pub
Usher expresses the opinion that the
years books show an alarming depre-
citation in quality and a tremendous in
crease in the number of readers of
trashy fiction. Another, just as prom
inent in his profession, says that the
intelligence of the reading public is
growing rapidly and that the publish
erS are training up a class of book buy
crs 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
L no one book sold 50 many copies this
L year as did David Harum' last year.
II The Crisis no doubt leads the list
II this year. and though the author makes
his characters sing favorite hymns
of their grandmothers when these
same hymns We're not written until
dead, and otherwise mixes up facts Of
history. the public does not seem to
mind. More grevious are the faults of
another popular book of the year, 'Dri
and /" Dri is a revolutionary character
who smokes cigarettes and talks the
slang of the Bowery of today. But
andchronisms are not the least of the
faults Of the historical romances. The
public has demanded the rafting tale
Of adventure" and the writer's have
been trying to supply. the demand,
with Cucls in every chapter, Cad
looks" and "Ods Blood and such at
mospheric 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
|
| dia. kim Other novels well worth
| a fame beyond the little day of most
| books are:
The Eternal City" Hall Caine.
circumstance" DR.. S. Weir Nit
chel.
THE Cavalier" George w. Cable.
Tristan of Blent," Anthony Hope.
Cardigan" Robert w. Chambers.
;CrI,t Of
Parker.
The Tory Lover Sarah Orne
Jewett.
The Portion of Labor" Mary Will
kins.
The Secret Orchard Agnes and
| EGrrton Castle.
The Crisis" Winston Churchill.
The House with the Great Shut
ters,'' George Douglass.
Marietta" +. Marion Crawford.
Sir Richard CaImady," Lucas
Malch.
In the list of miscellaneous works,
Jacob Riis' The Making of an Ameri-
can" deserves one Of the leadingtplaces,
ana among the best to follow are:
The Life and Letters of Richard
Green"
Lives Of the Hunted" Ernest Seton
Thompson.
Life of the Master" DR.. John Wat
SIN.
James Russell Lowell" Horace
Scudder.
Life Of Stevenson" Graham Balfour.
Tho year 1901 witnessed the re-
nintirg Of more classics than any
Or, viDus l. months.
There are two Andrew Langs as
ven as two Winston ChuIchills. 1t is
said that the mddIe-class English peo-
rie refuse to believe that the member
Of Parliament did not write Richard
CaryeI" and The Crisis"
The Pushkin prize which is given by
the Academy of Sciences at st. Peters
burg every other year. is noteworthy
this wear. because the first prize of
1000 roubles was unanimously voted to
| a Russian for his translation of
| Shakespeare, upon which he labored
for thirty years. The second prize was
divided into two sums of 500 roubles
each, one-half of which was allotted
! TO o. Tsch iumin for her translation of
! English. German and French lyrical
poems into Russian and for her Rus
sian rendering of Millions Paradise
Lost and Paradise Regained.
Staniukcvich, who received the other
half. was for some years an officer in
the navy, and won 500 roubles by his
two volumes of Sea Stories, tales
and sketches of life on board a Russian
Narship. which are said to be both
popular and Of high literary merit.
There is always something pathetic
about the end of the year in the book
world. So many literary regulations
have failed in the making, so many
hopes of large hook sales have been I'M
realized. so many plans have come to
. disappointing end that the publisher
j looks over his years work with more
of regret than of congratulatlon. All
methods of the business are changing
so RAPIDLY that while, personally, every
one who issues books is glad of a eer-
tain relief from the rush of trade and
| the competition among his fellows,
| that comes at this time of year, no one
Of them dares to stop his labor OF