THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



August, 1913 



THE- TALK- OF -THE - OFFICE 



HOW KIPLING'S BOOKS SELL 



There has been for ten years, in all parts 

 of the world where English is spoken and 

 countries where the books have been trans- 

 lated, a great and increasing sale for the 

 writings of Rudyard Kipling. Readers do 

 not, perhaps, realize that his books sell now 

 many more copies every month throughout 

 the year than those of any other living author, 

 and that their sale is increasing and has in- 

 creased to an extraordinary degree. Double- 

 day, Page & Co. have recently made up some 

 figures which tell the story. Since 1903, ten 

 years ago, the sales of his authorized editions, 

 made through the book trade alone and not 

 including mail order or subscription or other 

 mediums of sale, have increased from five to 

 ten times, and in some cases even twenty 

 times, and the last year showed by far the 

 largest sales. 



For instance: The sale of "From Sea to 

 Sea," in 191 2 was just twenty times as much 

 as in 1903. "Just So Stories" has increased 

 about ten times since 1904, when the ; book 

 was quite new. "Plain Tales from the Hills/' 

 which has been printed in various garbled 

 editions by every kind of pirate, has sold in 

 the revised and authorized edition eighteen 

 times more than in 1903. 



"Kim," which has always gone well and 

 has been one of Mr. Kipling's best known 

 books, sold in 191 2 about four times as many 

 copies as in 1903. "The Naulahka," a tale 

 of India written with Wolcott Bales tier, has 

 grown year by year until in 191 2 the sale was 

 eleven times as great as in 1903. "Life's 

 Handicap," "The Brushwood Boy," "The 

 Light that Failed," "Under the Deodars," 

 and "Departmental Ditties" have all sold 

 in 191 2 much more than ten times as many as 

 in 1903. Among the most popular of all 

 of Mr. Kipling's books is the volume of " Col- 

 lected Verse," which sells probably vastly 

 more than any other book of poetry written 

 by a living author. The "Jungle Books," 

 also, keep on increasing, and a single poem 

 like "If — " has sold many tens of thousands. 



All this notwithstanding the great rush of 

 11,000 new books each twelve months, and 

 the ever widening circle of Kipling readers 

 goes on. 



''To business that we love we rise betime 



And go to 't with delight." — Antony and CUofatra. 



These figures do not take into account the 

 vast number of books printed by the pirates 

 and traded in under all manner of conditions 

 and under the false representation that these 

 uncopyrighted books comprise Mr. Kipling's 

 more or less complete works. As the Copy- 

 right Law was passed in 1891, it will easily 

 be seen that books not covered by copy- 

 right are Mr. Kipling's earliest works, 

 and do not include anything written since 

 that date. 



THE KIPLING INDEX 



We have published for the benefit of Kipling 

 enthusiasts a book entitled "A Kiphng Index" 

 which is a guide to the authorized editions of 

 Mr. Kipling's works, giving alphabetically 

 the titles of all the stories and verses, with 

 cross references throughout. Verses without 

 titles require a separate entry, and are in- 

 dexed under their first fine. Under the entry 

 "American Notes" are summarized the con- 

 tents of Mr. Kipling's letters upon things 

 American. 



This book will be sent free to any Kipling 

 reader who would like to have it, and we feel 

 sure it will turn out to be valuable to those 

 who are always asking in what volume such 

 and such a story, or such and such a poem by 

 Mr. Kipling appeared. 



GENE STRATTON-PORTER'S 

 NEW BOOK 



First Edition, 150,000 Copies 



On August 17th, Mrs. Porter's birthday, 

 we shall publish a new book by the author of 

 "Freckles," "A Girl of the Limberlost," and 

 "The Harvester." It is called "Laddie. A 

 True Blue Story" — another open air novel 

 absolutely true to the life it presents. 



There has been much talk concerning the 

 reason why Mrs. Porter's books sell in such 

 great numbers. Our own idea is that the 

 most obvious answer is because they are 

 wholesome and original. There seems to be 

 a notion rampant among critics, and many 

 authors, and people generally, that men and 

 women are not interesting book material 

 unless they break the laws of God and man 



and engage in all sorts of lawless, complicated 

 social relations. James Lane Allen once said 

 that "man must know the lowest, in order to 

 appreciate the highest." If this is true of 

 man, it is also true of woman. What a fine 

 world we should have if all of us had to roll 

 in filth in order to appreciate a clean soul and 

 body. By the same token, there would be 

 nothing left to appreciate. Always and for- 

 ever the man who conquers a temptation is a 

 bigger, and more interesting subject than the 

 man who weakly follows his inclination, and 

 they should not be held up to the world as the 

 real thing, or the most interesting people, or 

 the types which represent the American home. 



Mrs. Porter's books — and this is true of 

 the new novel, "Laddie" — represent the 

 strong man who conquers. Any book that 

 teaches this thing is a bigger book and more 

 suitable to have in the home and to read for 

 any purpose than one that deals with the 

 breaking of the law. Mrs. Porter's books 

 cannot do any one harm; they may, and do, 

 help thousands. 



Year after year they steadily increase in 

 popularity and sale; so far in 19 13 the sales 

 are larger than ever before. They go into 

 the homes which appreciate and care for them 

 and these readers tell others in an ever widen- 

 ing circle, not as a sensation, but as a good 

 substantial expression of American life. 



J. C. SNAITH'S NEW BOOK 



In an editorial article in the New York 

 Times, the writer has this to say of what 

 Doubleday, Page & Company have considered 

 Mr. Snaith's most interesting book: 



"It is one well worth bearing in mind if your list 

 for Summer reading has not been completed. . . To> 

 enjoy Mr. Snaith's newest satire, which is often grave 

 and deep, though the humor of it is infectious, one 

 need not accept the point of view. . . The conduct 

 of the narrative, the happy characterization, the 

 sprightly dialogue, are the things that count. We 

 find no disturbing prophecy in Mr. Snaith's book, but 

 an admirably told story. The chapter in which the- 

 hero has heart-to-heart talks, first with his aristocratic 

 and well-informed butler, then with his King, and then 

 with a railway lineman of uncommon intelligence, we 

 should call the best Mr. Snaith has written if it were- 

 not for the memories that crowd upon us of so jnany 

 other good things he .has written." 



