Current:

Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), 1st October 1889, Edition 1 of 1, Page 1138

Page 1138
Page 4
4 of 190

On this page

  • Departments (2)
    • _- . ; ¦ ¦ '"• " "• 1 —>»—' -^ s ; • ' '¦¦ '' • ¦' —- oo2sri«E3sra?s
    • St. Dunstan's House, E.C, October 1, 1889.
  • Text (5)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      Ar00403

      "" t * I ? i 11 3 8 The Publishers' Circular Oct : % * W 9

      _- . ; ¦ ¦ '"• " "• 1 —≫»—' -^ S ; • ' '¦¦ '' • ¦' —- Oo2sri«E3sra?S

      _ - . ; ¦ ¦ '"• " " 1 —>»—' - ^ s ; ' ' ¦¦ ' ' ¦ ' — - oo 2 sri « E 3 sra ? s

      Literary Intelligence 1138 Books And Rum...

      LITERARY INTELLIGENCE 1138 BOOKS AND RUMOURS OF BOOKS 113 ^

      NOTES AND NEWS f .. H 43 AMERICAN NOTES AND NEWS 1146 CONTINENTAL NOTES * . ' 1148 .

      THE LIBRARY , MANUSCRIPTS , AND PRINTS OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM 1149 PERNICIOUS LITERATURE IN AUSTRALIA 1150

      THE DEMORALISATION OF THE AMERICAN BOOK TRADE i 1151 WILL TYPEWRITING INTERFERE WITH

      PRINTING ? ^ .. 1152 THE AGE OF BIOGRAPHY 1153 HOLLAND HOUSE . 1153

      UNIVERSITY EXTENSION LECTURES 1154 THE PRINTERS' PENSION , ALMSHOUSE , -AND ORPHAN ASYLUM CORPORATION 1154

      CHINESE PRIZE ESSAY SCHEMEl 1154

      IN MEMORIAM 1155 , TRADE CHANGES , 1156 THE BOOK SEASON—PUBLISHERS' ANNOUNCE- !

      MENTS „ 1156 , REVIEWS , & c . ' 1 . . 1198 INDEX T . Tcrxvn » - « r TO rr \ r \ BOOKS T > r \ r \ xra PUBLISHED ¦ dttdt Tamyn •« tw IN GREAT n . T » TP A « T »

      ^ j BRITAIN BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 16 & 30 ... . 1203 B 60 KS PUBLISHED IN GREAT BRITAIN

      FROM SEPTEMBER 16 TO 30 1204 NEW BOOKS AND BOOKS LATELY PUBLISHED 1208—1304—1320

      MISCELLANEOUS 1305—1312 BUSINESS CARDS 1309 , 1310 BUSINESSES FOR SALE ; ' . 1312

      ASSISTANTS WANTED 1312 WANT SITUATIONS 1312

      BOOKS FOR SALE 1313 BOOKS WANTED TO PURCHASE ... , * ... 1313

      == ___^_ - _ I

      St. Dunstan's House, E.C, October 1, 1889.

      St . Dunstan's House , E . C , October 1 , 1889 .

      Oliver Wendell Holmes Once Declared That...

      OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES once declared that every man had at least ' one

      novel in him / by which assertion we presume he meant to hint that there is no life , however

      bleak and straitened , which is altogether destitute of some element of romance . It is

      given only , however , to a few to possess in any signal degree the story-teller ' s art , and

      perhaps no better illustration of the familiar truth that men and women are but children of

      a larger grov / th could readily be named than that which is supplied by the undisguised personal

      admiration and even homage in which most people hold the great masters in this

      fascinating department of literary achievement . The disappearance from our midst of a

      great literary magician like Wilkie Collins , whose death we all deplore to-day , naturally

      draws attention to the position which imaginative literature holds in contemporary society .

      The modern novel stands in the same relationship to the life of the present , as that in which

      the ancient epic stood to the far-off times over which it cast the spell of its enchantment .

      With the growth of the world and the change in its habits and customs there has been a

      corresponding growth and change in literary expression . In spite of occasional exceptions ,

      which only , however , serve to prove the rule , it is no longer the story of martial valour , the

      shock of battle and the clasK of arms , which wins the common ear and charms the common

      heart . It is rather the battle of life , the soul ' s conflict on unseen arenas , the struggle between

      conflicting principles and warring passions , which appeals most powerfully to the

      imagination of this generation . All sorts and conditions

      of men want amusement ; and probably the

      need of recreation , mental as well as physical , I

      was never more urgent * than in this prosaic I and hard-4 riven age . The novelist will , there- I

      fore , always be welcome , because he makes I his appeal to that which is most human within I

      us , and lifts us into a larger world , and one in I which we gain at least temporary deliverance I

      from the prison-house of self and the dull I companionship of care . I

      The story-teller ' comes to our doors , and , I accommodating himself like a skilful seller , I

      tempts us all in turn with his dainty wares . I He stirs the sluggish fancy of even the dullest I

      and least imaginative by the vigorous and I picturesque description of strange and wonder- I

      ful events . He awakens the interest of the I student of human nature by his keen and I

      delicate analysis of character and motive , and I by his revelation now of the glory and now of I

      the shame of human life . He rouses the slow m enthusiasm of the critic by the skill with which I

      t h he e concea beauty ls of h the is art language , and unfolds in which his he ¦ p clothes lot , or I

      his fresh and unconventional ideas ¦ . He __ ^ H delights the young by depicting scenes in I

      which they long to mingle , and by describing I experiences in which they a . ra eager to share . I

      new He charms their youth the old for b a y whil enabling e , and ¦ them once to more re- I

      to dreams conj . ure Many back some a fettered at leas ' an t d of famished ¦ ¦ its beautiful heart

      finds in his pages liberty and love . Many a I weary invalid condemned to a life of suffering I

      and inaction rejoices in his pages because in I them qu _ iet is gained — from the fear of evil and _ I

      respite from Jthe tyranny of pain . ¦ If fiction does harm , even in its nobler forms , by I

      exhausting the sympathies of the few who are I foolish enough to abuse it , it does good by I

      arousing and exalting the more kindly , I

  • Citation
    • Publishers’ Circular (1880-1890), Oct. 1, 1889, page 1138, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/pc/issues/tec_01101889/page/4/