Very interesting. Do you think these books speak to sufficient numbers of people? Schools, and society, have changed so much that I wonder whether there are enough folk with nostalgia for something which they never experienced themselves. Much like Ivor Novello musicals and Al Bowly songs, are these books hopelessly out of their time? And maybe that’s the right thing. Much to mull over.
There are still fans of Novello and Al Bowly around, indeed generations who weren't alive when they were doing their good work originally. You're right that there are considerations and that there are some duds, but the British Library has done spectacularly well with republishing crime authors from around this time that I'd - and most other non-experts - have never heard of. And I think that Robin Stevens' success with her Murder Most Unladylike series indicates that there is some kind of audience out there.
Good points. We have many of those crime reprints in the house, all belonging to my daughter, in her early 20s so no lived connection there (she will also happily sing along with me to Ivor Novello!!). I’m persuaded - with the right books and, critically, the right cover art, they might well sell in big numbers- not least to me.
Let me know when you focus on pony stories. Jill Has Two Ponies by Ruby Ferguson remains to this day the only book that I started to reread the moment I had turned the last page!
Very interesting. Do you think these books speak to sufficient numbers of people? Schools, and society, have changed so much that I wonder whether there are enough folk with nostalgia for something which they never experienced themselves. Much like Ivor Novello musicals and Al Bowly songs, are these books hopelessly out of their time? And maybe that’s the right thing. Much to mull over.
There are still fans of Novello and Al Bowly around, indeed generations who weren't alive when they were doing their good work originally. You're right that there are considerations and that there are some duds, but the British Library has done spectacularly well with republishing crime authors from around this time that I'd - and most other non-experts - have never heard of. And I think that Robin Stevens' success with her Murder Most Unladylike series indicates that there is some kind of audience out there.
Good points. We have many of those crime reprints in the house, all belonging to my daughter, in her early 20s so no lived connection there (she will also happily sing along with me to Ivor Novello!!). I’m persuaded - with the right books and, critically, the right cover art, they might well sell in big numbers- not least to me.
Let me know when you focus on pony stories. Jill Has Two Ponies by Ruby Ferguson remains to this day the only book that I started to reread the moment I had turned the last page!
See, it's a winner! Millionaire by Christmas!