THE EARNINGS OF FRENCH AUTHORS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13355, 8 December 1906, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE EARNINGS OF FRENCH AUTHORS.

♦ Authors earn much less in France than in England. The late Sir Walter Besant, 10 years ago, estimated that there were 50 novelists in England- who earned upwards of a thousand a year. There are now probably nearly 150. In France there are almost certainly not more than 50 who ; make a living at all. An English novelist of standing will receive 18d on every copy of a book sold. Some novelists receive 2s. Emile Zola, who touched high-water mark in France, got a franc, which is rather less than lOd. Seven pence halfpenny is considered excellent pa,y, and fourpence and fiveponce are com'mon. There are.no big circulating libraries in France ; nor in France do wealthy newspapers seek to increase their circulations by selling or lending books on specially advantageous conditions. For some reason nut yet fully explained, the interest of the French public in literature has waned steadily since about 1390. Critics in all countries are in ) the habit of saying that the giants have died, and new giants have not arisen to replace them. The phrase is .a journalistic tag. .But in France"it is strictly true.—T.P.'s !.W.w»1.l- - '■■■. V ■■■",:.■.