Reassembling the English novel, 1789-1919

TL;DR

This paper estimates the annual publication rates of novels in the British Isles and Ireland from 1789 to 1919, providing crucial data for literary and book history research.

Contribution

It offers the first comprehensive estimate of yearly novel publication counts in the 19th century British Isles and Ireland.

Findings

Between 40,000 and 63,000 novels published in total

Annual publication rates vary over the period

Provides essential data for sociological and literary analysis

Abstract

The absence of an exhaustive bibliography of novels published in the British Isles and Ireland during the 19th century blocks several lines of research in sociologically-inclined literary history and book history. Without a detailed account of novelistic production, it is difficult to characterize, for example, the population of individuals who pursued careers as novelists. This paper contributes to efforts to develop such an account by estimating yearly rates of new novel publication in the British Isles and Ireland between 1789 and 1919. This period witnessed, in aggregate, the publication of between 40,000 and 63,000 previously unpublished novels. The number of new novels published each year counts as essential information for researchers interested in understanding the development of the text industry between 1789 and 1919.