|
''Mr. Barnes of New York'' is a novel published in 1887 by American author Archibald Clavering Gunter, quite popular in its day, which was also adapted into a play in 1888, and later two silent film versions. ==Novel== Although he already had success as a playwright, Gunter was unable to find a publisher for his first novel, which he had completed in 1885. He "submitted it to nearly every publisher in New York, and again and again it came back to him."〔 He then tried a Boston publisher and more publishers in New York, and met another round of rejections. After shelving the manuscript for a time, he read a current popular novel, and decided that although his book "might be rubbish, it was surely as good as this book that seemed to have taken the fancy of the public."〔 Gunter proceeded to publish the book himself, starting with 1,000 copies that bookstores would only take on consignment. Within a few weeks, sales grew brisk and the book became quite popular.〔(13 May 1888). (Hope for the Unrecognized ), ''Newark Sunday Call'' (relating the story of Gunter's difficulty in getting the book published)〕〔〔(1 May 1887). (New Books (short review) ), ''The New York Times''〕〔Somerville, Siobhan B. (Queering the Color Line: Race and the Invention of Homosexuality in American Culture ), p. 192-3 (2000)〕 Scholar James D. Hart has written that although the book may not have sold a million copies as has been claimed, it and many of Gunter's successive novels were indeed popular.〔Hart, James David. (The Popular Book: A History of America's Literary Taste ), p. 188-89, 309 (1950) (on list of "books most widely read in America", one of six entries for 1887)〕 In 1910, a profile of this "best seller of yesterday" described "its success as instantaneous as it was astonishing. Everywhere−in railway trains and in the deck chairs of ocean liners−the paper covered yellow volume was to be seen." It also said "contemporary criticism was outspoken in its praise" of the book.〔Maurice, Arthur Bartlett, (Best Sellers of Yesterday ), ''The Bookman (New York)'' (September 1910), p. 55-63〕 The plot revolves around the European travels and adventures of Burton H. Barnes, including a romance "with an English belle" and "involvement in a Corsican vendetta concerning his future brother-in-law."〔 In 1889, Gunter published the similarly-named book (though not a sequel), ''Mr. Potter of Texas'', which was also a best-seller. A sequel, entitled ''Mr. Barnes, American'' was published in 1907.〔(Sequels ), p. 95 (1967)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mr. Barnes of New York」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|