Mudie’s subscription library held a national monopoly over new fiction publication

Evidence

Readers got for their guinea-a-year as many books as they could read for less than the price of one new novel, and publishers secured a guaranteed sale, since Mudie would take the bulk of the first edition. An edition of 500 copies could secure for the publisher a decent profit, and Mudie would order 1,500 of an established author. … In effect, Mudie had secured himself a national monopoly on the publication of new fiction. What he chose not to take would not be published. — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 609

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s focus on how book distribution and economics shaped bookkeeping and library history. — connects to: Mudie’s purchasing power functioned as a national monopoly on new fiction — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 609
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 609

Broader Connections

• Mudie’s purchasing power functioned as a national monopoly on new fiction #corroborates (1.00) — Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen, The Library- A Fragile History, 609