Best-Selling Novels of 1895

[ColleenMc]

I was curious about when bestseller book lists started, which led me to the Wikipedia listings of Publishers Weekly best selling novels for each year, beginning in 1895. So I thought I might start a series of threads in the book suggestions to look at the list for each year, what has been recorded and what has not.

So, 1895:

1. Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush by Ian Maclaren (1850-1907)

Collection of short stories by Scottish author Ian MacLaren. He was popular in 1895 -- he has two books on this list! No works by Maclaren have been recorded yet for Librivox.

Text link (Project Gutenberg): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7179
Wikipedia article on MacLaren: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Maclaren
Wikipedia article on Beside the Bonnie Briar Bush: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beside_the_Bonnie_Brier_Bush

2. Trilby by George du Maurier

Already on Librivox, one version.

3. The Adventures of Captain Horn by Frank R. Stockton (1834-1902)

Adventure novel - there are several Stockton books on Librivox so far, but not this one. Description by a Goodreads reviewer: "A crew is shipwrecked on the South American coast and must fend for themselves until they can be rescued. They find the remains of an ancient incan culture and spend the last part of the book figuring out how to get rich from their discovery."

Text link (Project Gutenberg): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12190
Wikipedia article on Stockton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_R._Stockton
Wikipedia article on The Adventures of Captain Horn (very little info here): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Captain_Horn

4. The Manxman by Hall Caine

Already on Librivox, one version.

5. The Princess Aline by Richard Harding Davis

Already on Librivox, one version.

6. The Days of Auld Lang Syne by Ian Maclaren


Second 1895 bestseller by Ian Maclaren. From description on Goodreads: "First published in 1895, The Days of Auld Langsyne was Ian Maclaren's second collection of sketches from 'Drumtochty'. Following in the wake of the enormous success of Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush (1894), the volume established the Rev. John Watson as one of the most widely-read authors in Britain and America. Based on memories of life as a minister of the Free Kirk in Logiealmond, Perthshire, the stories, with their skilful use of local dialect, offer a nostalgic evocation of rural Scottish life in the 1860s and 1870s."

Text link (Project Gutenberg): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43726

7. The Master by Israel Zangwill (1864-1926)

Several other books by Zangwill have already been recorded on Librivox, but not this one yet. From description on Amazon: "The Master is the story of George Hutchinson, a young and talented painter who sacrifices everything for his art only to become more isolated and unhappy."

Text link (Project Gutenberg): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49795
Wikipedia article on Zangwill: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Zangwill

8. The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope

Already on Librivox, one version.

9. Degeneration by Max Nordau (1849-1923)


Even though Wikipedia has the Publisher's Weekly bestseller lists listed as "Bestselling Novels", this is a work of non-fiction/social criticism and appears to be the only non-fiction book on the list. Description from Wikipedia: "Degeneration (Entartung, 1892), is a book by Max Nordau in which he attacks what he believed to be degenerate art and comments on the effects of a range of social phenomena of the period, such as rapid urbanization and its perceived effects on the human body."

No works by Max Nordau in Librivox catalog yet, in German or English.

Text link (Project Gutenberg): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51161
Wikipedia article on Nordau: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Nordau
Wikipedia article on Degeneration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degeneration_(Nordau)


10. My Lady Nobody by Maarten Maartens (1858-1915)

Couldn't find any description or plot summary of this one. One other work by Maartens in Librivox catalog so far.

Text link (Project Gutenberg): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49903
Wikipedia article on Maartens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maarten_Maartens

[mightyfelix]

Ooh, I'll have to check out Maclaren. I'm a sucker for anything Scottish!

[ColleenMc]

On a quick skim the stories looked interesting but the Scottish accent portrayed in the dialogue would make it a real tongue twister to read aloud, unless you were a native or very familiar with the accent!

[mightyfelix]

On a quick skim the stories looked interesting but the Scottish accent portrayed in the dialogue would make it a real tongue twister to read aloud, unless you were a native or very familiar with the accent!

I'm not a native, and I don't have native proficiency with speaking it, but I do have some experience with some of the George MacDonald that I've read. He does the same thing. I've gotten to the point where I understand it perfectly well, and I usually know what it should sound like. But I need several takes to make my mouth make those sounds. And often I just have to settle for my best approximation. I wish I could just go live in Scotland for like a month and just soak in the language.

[Lushnam]

ColleenMc

Great idea looking into the best-sellers lists!