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=                       The_History_of_a_Book                        =
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                            Introduction
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'The History of a Book' is an 1873 novel by Annie Carey. The novel is
an it-narrative following the experiences of a copy of 'The Life and
Adventures of Robinson Crusoe'. It was received favorably by the
British literary press.


                     Background and publication
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'The History of a Book' was written by Annie Carey and published in
1873 by Cassell, Petter & Galpin in London. Carey was an author of
the it-narrative, a genre of Victorian literature giving the stories
of objects; she earlier wrote 'Autobiography of a Lump of Coal; A
Grain of Salt; A Drop of Water; A Bit of Old Iron; and A Piece of Old
Flint' (1870).

Carey's novel follows a copy of 'The Life and Adventures of Robinson
Crusoe' as it is being made. The New Book is left at an auction house,
and the other books fail to respect him; once they learn that the New
Book is 'Robinson Crusoe', they respect him and label him "Defoe
Senior". In Carey's time, 'Robinson Crusoe' was a mass market book,
and her book compares mass literary production to classic literature.


                             Reception
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Writers for the 'Examiner' praised the book, saying it was "attractive
and instructive" in discussing the physical assembly of books and for
its narrative technique. An article in 'Graphic' recommended the novel
for readers interested in the history of publishing and praised its
historical view of the printing press "from the rude types of
Gutenberg ... to the Walter or Marinoni machines". A review in the
'Sheffield Daily Telegraph' recommended it for the "intelligent child"
because the book satisfies "curiosity about one of the most lasting of
pleasures - books".


License
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License URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_a_Book