Life, 1903-02-19 · page 9 of 24
Life — February 19, 1903 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous dialogue piece about popular literature tastes, not a political cartoon. A book-shop clerk discusses "flossy books"—sentimental, popular novels that appeal to ordinary readers rather than serious literature enthusiasts. The conversation centers on "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch," apparently a bestselling book that intellectuals dismiss but the general public loves. The satire mocks both pretentious readers who sneer at popular fiction and the masses who enthusiastically embrace sentimental stories. The clerk defends "Mrs. Wiggs," suggesting it has genuine merit and emotional resonance for readers. The piece likely reflects early 1900s tensions between "high" and "low" literary culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A book for a lady? A new book? Oh, yes, sir—yes, sir, we've got plenty of new books. Indeed, I never saw a season with so many new books in it. Everybody’s writin’, New authors crop up every day and all the old ones are at it again. Book for a lady, H’m, let me see. Now, what kind of a lady is she, sir? Of course, I mean what kind of a readin’ lady? They're so differ- ent, you know. Now, some of ‘em like real books, same as men, but mostly they like Ww ats that, sir? 4 view op New rorK.—By a Pessimist. Flossy books. What are they? name for ‘em. 8 know, are books that seem real nice, and most people like them, but there’s really nothin’ to ’em. Now, if this here lady of yours likes that kind, there’s nothing would please her so much as “Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch.” What? You never heard of that? Well, that’s funny. It’s been a best- seller all this season. The people that like it just simply adore it, you know. They rave over it, and they Oh, that’s just my say, “Such humor! Such pathos!” It's like a Christmas card; gives you a sort of mental lithograph of “Father, dear father, come home with me now,” and “Eva, lit-tle E-va,” all jumbled up together, while the angels look down through the snowflakes. Oh, no, it isn’t really like that. That's just the way it strikes me. It's really like Mrs. Wiggins's books —just exactly like ‘em. I s'pose that's why it's called Mrs. Wiggs. You don’t think your lady'’d like it, eh? Well, I think she would, ‘cause a hundred out of every ninety- comicbooks.com