Popular Reading and Publishing in Britain 1914-1950 (Oxford Historical Monographs) - Hardcover

McAleer, Joseph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198203292 ISBN 13: 9780198203292

Publisher: Clarendon Press, 1993

Synopsis

Before the advent of television, reading was among the most popular of leisure activities. Light fiction--romances, thrillers, westerns--was the sustenance of millions in wartime and in peace. This lively and scholarly study examines the size and complexion of the reading public and the development of an increasingly commercialized publishing industry through the first half of the twentieth century. Joseph McAleer uses a variety of sources, from the Mass-Observation Archive to previously confidential publishers' records, to explore the nature of popular fiction and its readers. He analyzes the editorial policies which created the success of Mills & Boon, publishers of romantic fiction, and D. C. Thomson, the genius behind The Hotspur and other magazines for boys, and also charts the rise and fall of the Religious Tract Society, creator of the legendary Boy's Own Paper, as a popular publisher.

About this title

About the Author

Free-lance writer and historian

Review

an engaging and path-breaking book whose importance is obvious from the title. McAleer has done his research with commendable enterprise. * EHR * this well-researched study hammers one more nail into the coffin of a social control theory. This generalization, as McElwee repeatedly makes clear, rarely stands up under close scholarly observation. * Albion * this is an admirable pioneering study which combines the qualities of originality and readibility. What is said in these pages rings true. This book...will long remain an important - even indispensable - contribution to the study of the most ephemeral of publications, and to the more general theme of romantic fiction. Its bibliography is wide-ranging and excellent. * The Library * 'there is very little scholarly work on the twentieth century ... Joseph McAleer has set out to remedy that situation and on that count alone his thoughtful, well-documented and immensely readable study is to be welcomed ... this is a pioneering work of some importance and is essential reading for anyone interested in twentieth-century popular culture.' Jeffrey Richards, Lancaster University, Social History Bulletin, Vol. 19, Sprin '94 'McAleer highlights the importance to publishers of listening to their readers ... A good example of the value of oral history to business historians and some fascinating insights into the world of publishing.' Dan Weinbren, Oral History, Spring 1994 'this is a meticulously researched piece of work ... McAleer is genuinely absorbed by his subject and can be entertainingly wry about it.' Tim Heald, Daily Telegraph 'Joseph McAleer has some useful corrective material on this ... this is a useful study; but a mine to be raided, not an advance in understanding the underlying issues.' Times Literary Supplement `Joseph McAleer's book offers us a reminder of the other side of the coin, of the publishing ventures which succeeded in combining profit with a version of moral uplift. His chapters on business strategies, on trends in publishing, and on public reading habits are excellent. Times Higher Educational, Supplement `meticulously researched ... McAleer is genuinely absorbed by his subject and can be entertainingly wry about it.' Tim Heald, Weekend Telegraph a scholarly and well researched book...this book is of great interest as historical background and provides a context for the printing historian...an authoritative book, thorough, well researched and full of useful references. but it is also an easy and enjoyable read * Printing Historical Society Bulletin * `a tour de force ... McAleer should be applauded for showing the rest of us what can be done with the history of reading. Anyone working in any aspect of the field would learn much from Popular Reading and Publishing in Britain.' History of Reading News, Autumn 1993 a scholarly and well researched book...this book is of great interest as historical background and provides a context for the printing historian...This is an authoritative book, thorough, well researched, and full of useful references. But it is also an easy and enjoyable read. * Printing Historical Society *

Edition details

• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198203292
• ISBN 13: 9780198203292
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304