Sunday, January 30, 2011

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The Last Chronicle of Barset - Barchester Chronicles #6

The Last Chronicle of Barset
by Anthony Trollope
Book 6 in the Barchester Chronicles
With illustrations by George W. Thomas
London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1869

Volume 1
Volume 2

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Monday, January 17, 2011

Jane Austen - Her Homes and Her Friends

Jane Austen - Her Homes and Her Friends
by Constance Hill
London and New York: John Lane, 1902

Two sisters visit places associated with Jane Austen. A delightful travel book.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Appletons' Town and Country Library

Yesterday I discovered that from 1881 to about 1900 Appletons published a series of novels semi-monthly in a series they called Appletons' Town and Country Library. The novels are mostly, if not all, reprints and are by American and English and European authors. Of course my initial reaction was, as I'm sure the publisher hoped, I want them all! According to what information I've been able to find (and surprisingly I haven't found much), each novel was printed in both paperback and cloth editions. I downloaded two from Google Books and began reading one, The Silence of Dean Maitland by Maxwell Gray, No. 9 in the series. This is one of the country novels, set in the English countryside. It begins on a winter evening with Alma Lee trudging up a steep hill laden with parcels. The atmosphere is wonderfully drawn. What I've read so far I like. As I've said before, whether I finish reading a book depends on whether I care about what happens to the characters. To this point I do care about what happens to Alma. And I want to know what Dean Maitland is silent about; and why is he silent?

For those of you who are interested, here is a link to a list of 280 titles in the Town and Country Library. I have found another seven titles which do not appear on this list, and then it seems the series was ended. I think it was a brilliant market ploy and one that I was surprised to find in the 19th century book trade. I wish I knew more about the series, such as whose idea was it and why did it end.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Ellen Glasgow Photo

I have not seen this photo of Ellen Glasgow before. I found it in Literary News, Volume 23, 1902, page 165.

Dr. Thorne - Chronicles of Barchester

Dr. Thorne
by Anthony Trollope

Chronicles of Barchester Book 3.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Phoebe Junior - Chronicles of Carlingford

Phoebe Junior - A Last Chronicle of Carlingford
by Mrs. Oliphant
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
London: Hurst and Blackett, 1876

Book 7 in the Chronicles of Carlingford

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Miss Marjoriebanks - Chronicles of Carlingford

Miss Marjoriebanks
by Mrs. Oliphant
New York: Harper and Brothers, 1867

Book 6 in the Chronicles of Carlingford
First published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, February 1865 to May 1866

Saturday, January 1, 2011

The Perputual Curate - Chronicles of Carlingford

The Perpetual Curate
by Mrs. Oliphant
New York: Harris & Brothers, 1865

Book 5 in the Chronicles of Carlingford
First published in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, June 1863 to September 1864.