A lot of novels have gone to the remainder bin since 1919. Few of the bestsellers of that year are still on library shelves. I have located a trove of vintage fiction at Milne Library at SUNY Oneonta, but that collection does not circulate.
However, I was lucky in finding circulating copies of the three top [...]
Archive for September, 2009
Once Famous Novelists Populate 1919 Bestseller List
Posted in Uncategorized on September 30, 2009 | Comments Off
Old Pybus is guilt-free romance
Posted in 1928 Bestselling Novels, Psychological novel, Romance on September 23, 2009 | Comments Off
If Old Pybus had been written by someone other than Warwick Deeping, the story could have dissolved into sentimental claptrap.
What to expect for the rest of 2009
Posted in Asides on September 16, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I’m finding it increasingly harder to locate copies of bestsellers published before 1940 and even more recent titles are getting scarce. Fortunately, some of the great older books are being reissued either in paperback or in digital format.
I’ll be finishing out 2009 with reviews of an assortment of vintage books I have unearthed. Most will [...]
The cream of 1929 bestselling novels
Posted in 1929 Bestselling Novels, My Top Pics on September 16, 2009 | Comments Off
The top novel of 1929 was, and remains, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. The novel bares the callousness that soldiers develop as protection against the brutality of war.
Land lures, blood ties
Posted in 1929 Bestselling Novels, tagged England, farming, H. W. Freeman, rural life on September 9, 2009 | 1 Comment »
W. H. Freeman describes character through behavior. You’ll remember bits of Joseph and His Brethren long after you’ve forgotten the plot.
Realistic Tale of Black Single Mom in 1870s South
Posted in 1929 Bestselling Novels, Psychological novel, tagged 19th century, black experience, Julia Peterkin, Reconstruction, single mothers, The South on September 2, 2009 | Comments Off
In Scarlet Sister Mary, Julia Peterkin deftly shows how one woman copes as a single parent. Mary’s choices may not be good ones, but Peterkin makes them appear plausible.
