Victorian Publishing: The Economics of Book Production for a Mass Market 1836-1916

Contemporary Review, July, 2004

Victorian Publishing: The Economics of Book Production for a Mass Market 1836-1916. Alexis Weedon. Ashgate. [pounds sterling]40.00. xvi 212 pages. ISBN 0-7546-3527-9. One of the most profound changes of the nineteenth century was the massive increase in literacy and the phenomenal growth of books, magazines and newspapers.

Victorian society was essentially a society of the written and spoken word whereas ours is based on images (films and television) with words kept to a minimum. The Victorian era also saw the creation of new markets: the three-decker novel, magazines that published fiction, cheap editions and the proliferation of lending libraries. Because writers wrote for money in this fast-changing period, there is a need to 'update our understanding of the economics of Victorian British book publishing'. The author's concern is with how 'social, economic and industrial changes affected publishing practice'. By studying publishers' accounts she shows how this new 'mass market in book production' came into being. Her emphasis is on 'publishing economics'. She discusses the sources available, the development of the new world of publishing, the trends in production costs, the far-reaching changes in publishing, the growth of educational publishing and, finally, a case study based on Chatto & Windus' relations with Wilkie Collins and 'Ouida'. Those who take an abstract view of literature will find this book disturbing and intrusive; those who wish to understand how literature is actually written, published, read and only then valued, this deeply researched and well written book will prove essential reading. (E.B.)