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A Biography of Percy Bolingbroke St.John
Endorsements
The ‘Pall Mall Gazette’ was a London evening paper founded in 1865 and, in 1923,it merged into the ‘Evening Standard’. Today, the ‘Gazette’ is, perhaps, best remembered as the paper read by Sherlock Holmes, On July 24, 1886, the editor received a letter concerning boy’s fiction and the ‘Gazette’ printed it on the Saturday.
BOOKS FOR BOYS
To the EDITOR of the PALL MALL GAZETTE
SIR,-With regard to boys' books, why do publishers allow tales of approved worth and popularity to go out of print? The boy public is so unstable, and has so few means of making itself heard, that its demand, when directly felt at all, is readily misunderstood by the caterers to its wants. Boys do not buy many books for themselves (I exclude magazines), but accept from more or less discriminating friends whatever the latter think fit to give. The only thing they really expect is novelty, and that demand would be satisfied by reprinting the favourites of past generations of juveniles just as well as by pouring out a river of "original" trash. Few books ten years old (excepting the few that have taken a permanent rank, such as "Tom Brown" and "Masterman Ready") are known to the youth of to-day even by name; but are we therefore to conclude that none deserve to be? I mention two admirable stories, now impossible to procure, which it would not be easy to beat as reading for the young, or for such seniors as Iove pure adventure and incident, without metaphysics "The Sailor Crusoe," by Percy B. St John - which appeared about twenty five years ago in the ‘London Journal’ and ”The Island Home," of somewhat earlier date, by F. Archer (I think that is title author's name, but am not quite sure). Will no one restore these capital tales to a second life? -1 am, Sir, your obedient servant,
July 22 W.M
On Friday, July 30 1886, the ‘gazette’ received a reply from a publisher pointing out the true facts of the case.
To the EDITOR of the PALL MALL GAZETTE
Sir, -- We have just had our attention called to the letter under the above heading which appeared in your issue of Saturday last, in which your correspondent “W.M” asks why the publishers allow tales of approved worth and popularity to go out of print, and mentions, in particular, “The Sailor Crusoe,” by Percy B, St.John as being unprocurable. We beg to inform “W.M,” and your readers that the book is not out of print, but is still published by us. We are, sir, your obedient servants,
J. and R.MAXWELL, Publishers. Milton House, 31, St Bride’s Street, E.C
In the ‘Pall Mall Gazette’ of just a few years later, on Tuesday, March 19, 1889, in the section called ‘TODAY’S TITTLE TATTLE, in one paragraph mixed among others; of gossip about the actor Mr Henry Irving, and the amount of money offered for a prize dog - 750 guineas, a sum, apparently, the highest ever offered for a dog -- one other news item is included:
A clever and prolific writer and one of the hardest workers of his day has just passed away in the person of Percy B.St. John. It was his wont to boast that for the past fifty odd years he had worked unremittingly for the london Press. His first production - a story - appeared in Chamber’s journal when he was but eighteen. He had long ago lost count of his many works of fiction, a list of some of which takes up several pages of a British Museum Catalogue. The day before his death he personally delivered a batch of M.S at a publishing firm. “I have done my work,” he said a few days before the end — “It’s time I had some rest”
He died in London on 15 March 1889.