"BEST-SELLERS" OF OLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 151, 27 June 1936, Page 1 (Supplement)

"BEST-SELLERS" OF OLD.

"Novels at this period (1870-SG) still invariably made their first appearance as books in three-volume editions (at 31/0), which were bought almost solely by circulating libraries," writes E. C. K. Ensor in his "England, 1870-1914." "But now for the first time a sharp difference developed between those meant for the multitude and those designed for the intelligent reader. Down to and including George Eliot, all the great English novelists had been bestsellers. But George Meredith, whose four greatest books appeared in these years, never reached a large public. Henry James, who came to Europe in 1869 ' and published his first notable novel in 1875, made an equally restricted appeal. Thomas Hardy, whose earlier masterpieces also appeared now, liad a broader vogue. But he was never a best-seller in the widest sense. Much the same is true of R. Tj. Stevenson; his 'Treasure Island' (ISS3) and 'Kidnapped' (1880) enjoyed almost the fullest popularity; but no other of his best books reached so far. Most of the best-sellers are now forgotten. . .