Mary Hammond: Reading, Publishing and the Formation of Literary Taste in England, 1880–1914

• Julia Kuehn

‘In trying to understand the appeal of best-sellers, it is well to remember that whistles can be made sounding certain notes which are clearly audible to dogs and other of the lower animals, though man is incapable of hearing them.’ Thus wrote Rebecca West in her 1925 essay ‘The Tosh Horse’ about the British literary scene and the popular success of Hall Caine, Marie Corelli and Florence Barclay. Countering both such classism and willing ignorance Hammond’s study shows convincingly how these whistling sounds can be explored.

Seiten 200 - 202