Tea at Trianon: Confessions of a Non-Bestseller

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, March 12, 2010

Confessions of a Non-Bestseller

Author R. J. Stove, one of my favorite writers, tells it like it is:

It increasingly looks as if we have entered not only a post-literacy age but, for the most part, a post-nonfiction age, a post-publishing age, indeed a post-professional-author age. I do not deny that publishers will continue to exist, including excellent publishers like ISI. What I do deny is that the situation from which hardback, paperback, and periodical literature benefited in the 1950s and 1960s — a “perfect storm” combination of educated writers, educated readers, educated publishers, non-masochistic WASP-dominated elites, and no trash TV — will ever occur again.

Half a century ago, Russell Kirk and Hannah Arendt could live off the proceeds of their dense, demanding, and allusive books. When Petrie’s friend, fellow historian, and contemporary Sir Arthur Bryant died in 1985, he left a massive fortune that would be unthinkable now. Neither a reincarnated Bryant nor any other historian could attain anything like such an income today, unless he were a market genius or had an Ivy League senior professorship or moonlighted as a supermodel.

P. M. Doolan said...: Andrew Kean, in his interesting book "The Cult of the Amateur" says much the same.; March 12, 2010 at 7:22:00 AM EST
Lindsay said...: Elena, It might be of interest to you that ISI is a non-profit publisher (who would nevertheless rather not lose money on its publications;)). The organization is struggling mightily with the downturn in the economy and is issuing a hefty public campaign to try and break even from the 1.5 million dollar shortfall they have from last year. Its future is uncertain, to say the least (as well as my own since my husband is employed there!), and any help people could offer to ensure the publication of such books (as well as other programs promoting conservative ideas and principles) would be appreciated. I don't mean to spam you, I just thought that those interested in this article might be interested to know that as well.; March 12, 2010 at 8:39:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Thanks, P.M.

Thanks, Lindsay. You're not spamming me, not at all. My husband had a good friend who worked for ISI and we have long admired the good work it does. It is indeed a difficult time, especially for small publishers and non-profit publishers, and we do not know where it is all going.; March 12, 2010 at 9:07:00 AM EST