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Living on the Margin: George Bentley and the Economics of the Three-Volume Novel, 1865–70
- Book History
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 13, 2010
- pp. 58-79
- 10.1353/bh.2010.0013
- Article
- Additional Information
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This paper examines fifty-five accounts of three-volume novels published by George Bentley from 1865 to 1870 in order to access the overall profitability of the format. The accounts give information about production costs (such as paper, printing, and binding), advertising, copyright, and sales. An analysis of the return on investment of publishing these novels finds nearly every novel at least covered its cost of production, and most made a modest profit. Ultimately, the three-volume novel was a rather predictable and profit-making format for Bentley.