" Briefly, this is ridiculous. He says
further: "Men and women who could trust to a sale of 5000 or 6000 copies
of a novel, equally with authors who can command much larger sales, find
that this year the sale of their annual novel has reached a tenth part of
the usual figures." This also is ridiculous. The general view is that,
while the season has been scarcely up to the average for fiction, it has
not been below the average on the whole. But Mr. Cooper is nothing if not
sweeping. A few days later he wrote to the _Westminster Gazette_ about the
House of Lords, and said: "I am open to wager a considerable sum that if
the Government fights a general election next year they will win back all
their lost by-elections and get an increased majority besides." Such
rashness proves that grammar is not Mr. Cooper's only weak point.
* * * * *
It is a pity that Mr. Cooper's protest was not made with more moderation,
for it was a protest worth making. The books of the two Queens have not
ruined the season, nor have they reduced the sales of popular novels by 90
per cent.; but they have upset trade quite unnecessarily. The issue of
"Queen Victoria's Letters" at six shillings was a worthy idea, but its
execution was thoughtlessly timed.
Pages:
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70