New-York tribune., 1908-10-25
GDe GNeAAa91lE22ooGls GNeA E2oGls 9riba1o1ns
SUNDAY, OCTOBER %, 190S.

The autumn bool, season in London is pretty
nearly swamping the booksellers. One Of Them
talking TO = reporter for the Daily Chronicle"
protests against the awful food and quotes with
warm approval the saying Of one Of his GUS
toners, Il think every man or woman who
writes one good work of fiction should imme-
diatcy commit suicide" What blessing that
would be to society" adds the bookseller, but IN
the absence of sound legislation on the subject
he makes Il very coed suggestion This is that
novels should te published at higher price
say at about 81 30. An edition of a thousand
copies. sod to the libraries, would cover the
cost of production, and then the successful
novels could be weedcd out and published at
half Il dollar or SO for the general public. I'm
TIE process of elimination many novels would
be killed many second and third rate authors
would be annihilated and only the best would
survive" Publishers booksellers and the public
would all profit by the adoption of some such
scheme as this, and, of course, the really com
petent author would come into his own. Mean
while the bookseller is not altogether helpless.
The particular one we have just quoted was
thus addressed by friend: You have lot Of
good books here. What do you do when you
get foolish one?" Il wait till fool buys it,
he said. "and that is the science of b0okSelling."
Already voices are being raised here and there
against the current multiplication of biOg
raphies. Many Of these, it is very reasonably
argued, contain no new facts of any value and
show no originality in the treatment of an old
theme. Readers, it is said, beginning to
hesitate about taking up 4 historical me-
m0ir. We dare say that this is true, but one
should be careful to distinguish between the
impressions of the jaded reviewer and those of
the lay reader The critic can hardly be blamed
if he is growing little restless under the press
of this biographical movement" It de-
posits at his door fearful and wonderful mass
Of books. Still if he can but preserve his
wonted calm, he may overhaul the mass without
serious discOuragement The increase in the
number of biographies put forth on a catch
penny basis by the perfunctory bookmaker is
not TO be denied, but the proportion of this in
ferior stuff is, as yet, small Moreover. many
of the new biographies, while possessing no
very brilliant merits, produced adequately
enough and even with cIeYerness. They make
interesting reading and they have unquestOnably
d certain educational significance 1t is impoS-
Bible that they should not, in many instances.
stimulate the reader to further and more serious
excursions into political purely literary his
tory. Publishers and authors need not fear that
they are doing good subject to death. All they
need to do is to exercise a little more diScrim-
inatiOn and care incidentally we m1y note
that they would do we'll to sackcn their ac-
tiyity in respect to those court memoirs which
have more or less shady ladies' for their hero
Ines. If anything could Kill public interest in
historical biography it would be the drgenera-
ton Of that form of literature to the level of
dirty scandal