The Ideal and Reality of Mudie’s Select Library: An Analysis of the Lists of Works in the Advertisements

• Published in: Eibeibunka: Studies in English Language, Literature and Culture Vol. 54; pp. 81 - 102
• Main Author: SHITORI, Kotaro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Society of English Studies 31.03.2024; 英米文化学会
• ISSN: 0917-3536; 2424-2381
• DOI: 10.20802/eibeibunka.54.0_81

For Mudie’s Select Library, a leading circulating library in the Victorian era, advertisements in magazines serve as a vital tool not only for acquiring new subscribers but also for maintaining and strengthening its ideal image.This study took lists of works from full-page advertisements in 1860, 1864, and 1873, and compared them with Mudie’s contemporaneous catalogs, which list fiction and nonfiction separately, in order to accurately categorize each piece and analyze the placement of fiction and nonfiction.Consequently, the list in 1860, when subscribers began to complain that there were no novels they wanted to read, appealed to people that Mudie’s was a select library. The 1864 list of works enhanced the presence of fiction, aiming to increase subscribers after transitioning to a limited liability company. Lastly, the 1873 list demonstrated an intention to shift its focus back to strengthening its ideal image after overcoming financial difficulties.In other words, the three lists of works emphasized alternately image (ideal) and management (reality), considering the trends of rival circulating libraries, Mudie’s business situation, the criticism directed towards the select library, and so forth.