Oak Knoll

First edition. Light bumping to bottom edge. In original pictorial dust jacket; very minor edgewear. Interior is bright.

"The essays collected here ask about the meanings and values that have been ascribed to the term 'popular.' They consider whether popular can be imposed, or if it must always emerge from children's preferences. And they investigate how the 'Harry Potter' phenomenon fits into a repeated cycle of success and decline within the publishing industry. Whether examining eighteenth-century chapbooks, fairy tales, science schoolbooks, Victorian adventures, waif novels or school stories, these essays show how historical and publishing contexts are vital in determining which books will succeed and which will fail, which bestsellers will endure and which will fade quickly into obscurity. As they consider the fiction of Angela Brazil, Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, and J.K. Rowling, the contributors carefully analyse how authorial talen and cultural contexts combind, in often unpredictable ways, to generate -- and sometimes even sustain -- literary success." From the reference library of Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts with their bookplate included.