Harriet Martineau's Autobiography, with Memorials by M.W. Chapman

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SECTION IV. My mother and I spent two months among my brothers and sisters before returning home to settle for the winter. I was aware that I must presently make up my mind about a book- or no book on America: but I had no idea how soon my decision would be called for. As I have mentioned, I declined the offer made before I left home to obtain an advance of 500 from a publisher, who would be glad thus to secure the book. Mr. Murray also sent me a message through a mutual friend, intimating his wish to publish my travels on my return. In America such applications were frequent: and on all occasions my reply was the same; that I did not know, nor should till I got home, whether I should write on the subject at all. One personal application made to me in New York at once amused and shocked me. I had not then, and I have not to this day, got over the wonder and disgust caused by the tone in which so serious and unworldly a vocation as that of authorship is spoken of; and, of all the broad instances of such coarseness that I have met with, this New York application affords the very grossest. Mr. Harper, the head of the redoubtable piratical publishing house in NewYork, said to me in his own shop, ' Come, now; tell me what you will take for your book.'?' What book ?'?' 0! you know you will write a book about this country. Let me advise you.'?' But I don't know that I shall write one.'?' 0 ! but I can tell you how easily you may do it. So far as you have gone, you must have picked up a few incidents. Well'. then you might Trollopize a bit, and so make a readable book. I would give you something handsome for it. Come ! what will you take ?' Even people who know nothing of books in a mercantile view seem to have as little conception of the true aim and temper of authorship as the b...