The Diary of a Book-Agent

New York: Broadway Publishing Company, 1911. First edition of this tale of a young American woman struggling to make a living as a traveling book-agent. Although Lindley’s narrative has sometimes been treated as fact, this is a work of fiction: the heroine’s sales territory encompasses Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, and her very first order is a set of Mark Twain’s works, in the deluxe binding, sold to the great man himself. Lindley dramatizes the perils of door-to-door bookselling, as her book-agent navigates a series of quacks, predators, and deadbeats, as well as the general public’s lack of interest in buying books: “Carnegie ought to be made to support all female book agents, as his libraries have killed the book business.” The various sales strategies described here, exaggerated for comic effect, offer real insight into the workings of American book publishing and distribution at the turn of the twentieth century. The final thirty pages of the volume are devoted to a more sentimental story by Lindley, “The Modern Philanthropist,” also on the subject of economic precarity. A near-fine copy of an uncommon and compelling book. Single volume, measuring 7.25 x 5 inches: [4], 3-109, [1]. Original burgundy cloth stamped in gilt and blind. Lightest rubbing to spine ends and corners. (Inventory #: 1003970)