— Ch. 1 · Origins And Publisher Dynamics —
Three-volume novel.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
Edinburgh publisher Archibald Constable began producing three-volume novels in the early 1800s. He made a success of publishing expensive editions of Walter Scott's work. The first novel was Kenilworth, released in 1821 at a price that became standard for seventy years. This format allowed publishers to charge high prices while maintaining quality binding and paper. Constable's company collapsed in 1826 with large debts. Both he and Scott were bankrupted by the failure. Henry Colburn quickly adopted the format after Constable's collapse. The number of three-volume novels issued annually rose from six in 1825 to thirty in 1828. By 1829, Colburn published thirty-nine such works. Under his influence, novels adopted a standard format of three volumes in octavo. Each volume was priced at one-and-a-half guineas or ten shillings and sixpence. This price and format remained unaltered for nearly seventy years until 1894.
Economic Barriers And Library Systems
The price of three-volume novels placed them outside the purchase power of all but the richest households. A single volume cost five or six shillings initially. By 1821, Archibald Constable increased the price to ten shillings and sixpence per volume. This equaled half the weekly income of a modest middle-class household. Most readers could not afford to buy these books outright. They borrowed from commercial circulating libraries instead. Charles Edward Mudie owned the most well-known library system. He bought novels for stock at less than half the retail price. Mudie charged subscribers one guinea a year to borrow one volume at a time. Subscribers paid two guineas a year to borrow four volumes simultaneously. A subscriber wanting to read the whole book without waiting had to take out the higher subscription. The high price meant publishers made profits on limited sales. Three-volume novels were typically printed in editions under 1,000 copies. These copies were often pre-sold to subscription libraries before publication. It was unusual for a three-volume novel to sell more than 1,000 copies.