Popular Books in Muncie
The following chart lists twenty of the most popular books borrowed in 1900 using the data on What Middletown Read. Since there was no way to filter popularity by year, I compiled this list by looking at the transactions in 1900 for around ninety of the most popular books between 1891 and 1902, as well as popular books accessioned in 1899 and 1900 and the New York Times lists of popular books for 1899 and 1900. Therefore, there may be some books that enjoyed large success in 1900, but are omitted from this list because they were not the most popular during the period of eleven years and did not meet my scope of inquiry. The accession date only reflects when the library added the book to their collection; many of these books were first published prior to the 1890s. The date of accession is also useful for gauging whether a book had had lasting popularity or was a more recent best-seller.
Title | Author | Transactions | Accession Date(s) | |
The gentleman from Indiana. | Booth Tarkington |
91 |
10-30-1899, 11-20-1899, 5-12-1900, | |
Richard Carvel | Winston Churchill |
81 |
8-9-1889, 11-8-1899, 5-12-1900 | |
Dan, the newsboy : the story of a boy's life in the streets of New York. | Horatio Alger |
79 |
2-5-1900 | |
Under the lilacs. | Louisa May Alcott |
75 |
3-18-1892, 5-18-1900 | |
Elsie Dinsmore. | Martha Finley |
60 |
10-17-1892, 10-15-1894 | |
The train boy. | Horatio Alger |
60 |
7-9-1900 | |
Holidays at Roselands | Martha Finley |
58 |
10-17-1892, 10-15-1894 | |
Frank Fowler, the cash boy. | Horatio Alger |
49 |
7-9-1900 | |
To Have and to Hold. | Mary Johnston |
49 |
3-7-1900, 5-18-1900 | |
The planter's northern bride : or, Scenes from Mrs. Hentz's childhood. | Caroline Lee Hentz |
46 |
10-19-1892 | |
The telegraph boy. | Horatio Alger |
44 |
10-19-1892 | |
The sorrows of Satan : or, The strange experience of one Geoffrey Tempest, millionaire. | Marie Corelli |
41 |
8-12-1897 | |
George at the fort, or, Life among the soldiers. | Charles Austin Fosdick |
39 |
12-30-1891, 6-22-1900 | |
Bernicia. | Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr |
37 |
1-22-1896 | |
The young adventurer : or, Tom's trip across the plains. | Horatio Alger |
36 |
12-30-1891 | |
Luke Walton : or, The Chicago newsboy. | Horatio Alger |
36 |
7-9-1900 | |
Tony, the hero : or, a brave boy's adventures with a tramp. | Horatio Alger |
36 |
7-9-1900 | |
The store boy : or The fortunes of Ben Barclay. | Horatio Alger |
35 |
7-9-1900 | |
An original belle. | Edward Payson Roe |
35 |
10-19-1892 | |
The cost of her pride. | Mrs. Alexander |
34 |
4-5-1900 |
You can also compare this chart to the most read books total between 1891 and 1902.
To read more about the popular books in 1900, click here.
To read more about the popular books in 1900, click here.