POPULAR BOOKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21414, 11 February 1933, Page 9 (Supplement)

POPULAR BOOKS

ORDER OF FAVOURITISM . Statistics prepared by the London publishing house of W. Collins, Sons and Company, showing the sales and comparative popularity of selected works in their series of " Classics," indicate that the affection of both child and adult readers has found a constant and common meeting-place through nearly thirty years in one book only—" David Copperfield." There is a marked and natural variance between the school child's favourites and the adult's. Blackmore's " Lorna Doone " tops a list of 126 famous works as the one most demanded by grown-ups. Thp children still favour " David Copperfield " above all others, and put Stevenson's " Kidnapped " into second place, with " Robinson Crusoe " third, " Lorna Doone " fourth, and " Treasure Island " fifth. Among adult readers, " Kidnupped " and " Robinson Crusoe " drop back considerably. Thackeray gets lukewarm support in this series from all ages, ranking thirty-ninth with the school edition and thirty-seventh with the more expensive edition of his formidable " History of Henry Esmond." Adult demand places " Vanity Fair " ninety-sseond on the list, while no sales are indicated among children. Mrs. Wood's " East Lynne " is one of the least popular books among juveniles, and Trollope's " Barchester Towers " tails the grown-up field. In 1903, when the " Classic " series was launched by Messrs. Collins, a list of the ten most popular works was compiled. It is interesting to compare the fortunes of various authors in public taste during the intervening thirty years. " David Copperfield," ranked third in 1904, went to first place in 1909, and has stayed there—so far as children's choice is concerned—ever since. " Adam Bede " kept within the first seven until 1929, and then suddenly slumped out of the favoured ten to fifty-second place. " Tom Brown's Schooldays '* went from "top of the class" in 1904 to number nineteen. Except " David Copperfield " every book in the ten selected in 1903 dropped sharply out of favour between 1929 and 1931.