Bloom also examines the changing publishing industry, the coming of book clubs and reading groups and the cult of the author. Looking beyond dubious publishers' statistics, Bloom has found that while Christie, du Maurier, Innes et al can be numbered with today's till-ringers such as Binchy, Collins and Welsh, so can such forgotten names as Dolf Wyllarde, Steve Francis and Sydney Horter. In July, Clive Bloom takes a longer view in Bestsellers: What the British have been Reading over the Last 100 Years and Why (Palgrave). The accompanying BBC book comes from John Sutherland. For the past few weeks, Reading the Decades has been providing welcome quality time on BBC2, throwing up surprising snatches of archive film (the rush to the shops after the Chatterley ban was lifted) and some equally surprising validations of writers long out of fashion - Carmen Callil and Germaine Greer both extolling the virtues of Georgette Heyer.
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