He has several branches in my group. Each
branch has a circulating library, patronized by the class which has only
heard of Mudie, and has not heard of the Grosvenor. Mr. Jesse Boot has had
the singular and beautiful idea of advertising his wares by lending books
to customers and non-customers at a loss of ten thousand a year. His
system is simplicity and it is cheapness. He is generous. If you desire a
book which he has not got in stock he will buy it and lend it to you for
twopence. Thus in the towns of my group the effulgent centre of culture is
the chemist's shop. The sole point of contact with living literature is
the chemist's shop. A wonderful world, this England! Two things have
principally struck me about Mr. Jesse Boot's [Now Sir Jesse Boot] clients.
One is that they are usually women, and the other is that they hire their
books at haphazard, nearly in the dark, with no previous knowledge of what
is good and what is bad.
* * * * *
It is to be added that the tremendous supply of sevenpenny bound volumes
of modern fiction, and of shilling bound volumes of modern belles-lettres
(issued by Nelsons and others), is producing a demand in my group, is, in
fact, making book-buyers where previously there were no book-buyers.
Pages:
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100