Modern Library
Encyclopedia
The Modern Library is a publishing company. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright
as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright
, it was purchased in 1925 by Bennett Cerf
and Donald Klopfer. Random House began in 1927 as a subsidiary of the Modern Library, but eventually became the parent company.
classics. From 1955 to 1960, the company published a quality numbered paperback series, but discontinued it in 1960, when the series was folded into the newly acquired Vintage paperbacks group. The Modern Library homepage says:
In 1998, novelist David Ebershoff
became the Modern Library's new Publishing Director. Ebershoff ran the imprint until 2005, stepping down to concentrate on his own writing and to become editor-at-large at Random House
.
In September 2000, the Modern Library launched a newly designed Paperback Classics series. Six new titles are published in the series on the second Tuesday of each month.
"; an unscientific web poll to gather public opinion on the same was also conducted. The list was actually restricted to works in English, but the title of the list was not modified to reflect this, and little attention was paid to the fact in publicity for the list. The top ten books from both lists in each category are shown below. According to an article about the list in the New York Times,
The lists have drawn heavy criticism. Their ranking system concerned many professional scholars and critics. The board members themselves, who did not create the rankings and were unaware of it until the list was published, expressed disappointment and puzzlement. There are only eight or nine women on the list, some highly influential works are ranked below works of questionable literary merit
, and the works of major writers from many English-speaking countries apart from the USA and England - such as Australia, India, Canada, Sri Lanka and South Africa - have been ignored. There were also hypotheses that the Modern Library merely made a selection based on its stocklist. A. S. Byatt
, the well-known English novelist who was on the board, called the list "typically American."
The list was compiled via approval voting
, by sending each board member a list of 440 pre-selected books from the Modern Library catalogue and asking each member to place a check beside novels they wished to choose. Then the works with the most votes were ranked the highest, and ties were broken arbitrarily by Random House publishers. This explains surprising results like the #5 placement of Brave New World
, which most of the judges agreed belonged somewhere on the list, but much lower than the very top.
David Ebershoff
, the Modern Library division's publishing director, stated in a follow-up "the people who were drawn to go to the Modern Library Web site and compelled to vote have a certain enthusiasm about books and their favourite books that many people don't, so that the voting population is skewed." In addition, people were allowed to vote repeatedly, once per day, making the poll a measure of how much effort people would put into promoting their favorite books. Others have been more direct in their descriptions of the results; librarian Robert Teeter remarks that the ballot boxes were "stuffed by cultists." (The Reader's List in a way criticizes itself, with the inclusion of Darrell Huff's How to Lie with Statistics
in the best non-fiction category.)
Horace Liveright
Horace Brisbin Liveright was an American publisher and stage producer. With Albert Boni, he founded the Modern Library and Boni & Liveright publishers. He published books from numerous influential American and British authors...
as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright
Boni & Liveright
Boni & Liveright was a publishing house established in 1916 in New York City by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright which made a name by publishing work considered avant-garde and in so doing published work by many modernist authors. They attracted attention from the Society for Suppression of Vice...
, it was purchased in 1925 by Bennett Cerf
Bennett Cerf
Bennett Alfred Cerf was a publisher and co-founder of Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearances lecturing across the United States, and for his television appearances in the panel game show What's My Line?.-Biography:Bennett Cerf...
and Donald Klopfer. Random House began in 1927 as a subsidiary of the Modern Library, but eventually became the parent company.
Recent history
The Modern Library originally published only hardbound books. In 1950, it began publishing the Modern Library College Editions, a forerunner of its current series of paperbackPaperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
classics. From 1955 to 1960, the company published a quality numbered paperback series, but discontinued it in 1960, when the series was folded into the newly acquired Vintage paperbacks group. The Modern Library homepage says:
- In 1992, on the occasion of the Modern Library's seventy-fifth anniversary, Random House embarked on an ambitious project to refurbish the series. We revived the torchbearer emblem that CerfCerfCerf may refer to:* CERF , a United Nations fund created to aid regions threatened by starvation and other disasters* Père David's Deer, also called Cerf du Père David, a species of deer known only in captivity...
and Klopfer commissioned in 1925 from Lucian BernhardLucian BernhardLucian Bernhard was a German graphic designer, type designer, professor, interior designer, and artist during the first half of the twentieth century. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 15, 1883, as Emil Kahn to a Jewish family, but changed in 1905 to his more commonly known pseudonym...
. The Promethean bearer of enlightenment (known informally around the old Modern Library offices as the "dame running away from Bennett CerfBennett CerfBennett Alfred Cerf was a publisher and co-founder of Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearances lecturing across the United States, and for his television appearances in the panel game show What's My Line?.-Biography:Bennett Cerf...
") was redesigned several times over the years, most notably by Rockwell KentRockwell KentRockwell Kent was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and writer.- Biography :Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York, the same year as fellow American artists George Bellows and Edward Hopper...
.
In 1998, novelist David Ebershoff
David Ebershoff
David Ebershoff is an American-born writer, editor, and teacher.-Biography:Born in Pasadena, California, he is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Chicago, and studied at Keio University in Tokyo....
became the Modern Library's new Publishing Director. Ebershoff ran the imprint until 2005, stepping down to concentrate on his own writing and to become editor-at-large at Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
.
In September 2000, the Modern Library launched a newly designed Paperback Classics series. Six new titles are published in the series on the second Tuesday of each month.
Modern Library lists
The Modern Library identified itself at its onset as "The Modern Library of the World's Best Books". In trying to keep with that identity, in 1998 they made a list of 100 novels called "Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century NovelsModern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels
Modern Library's 100 Best Novels is a list of the best English-language novels of the 20th century as selected by the Modern Library. Both Modern Library and Random House USA, the parent company, are US companies. Critics have argued that this is responsible for a very American view of the greatest...
"; an unscientific web poll to gather public opinion on the same was also conducted. The list was actually restricted to works in English, but the title of the list was not modified to reflect this, and little attention was paid to the fact in publicity for the list. The top ten books from both lists in each category are shown below. According to an article about the list in the New York Times,
- Executives at Random House said they hoped that as the century drew to a close their list would encourage public debate about the greatest works of fiction of the last hundred years, thus both increasing awareness of the Modern Library and stimulating sales of novels the group publishes.
The lists have drawn heavy criticism. Their ranking system concerned many professional scholars and critics. The board members themselves, who did not create the rankings and were unaware of it until the list was published, expressed disappointment and puzzlement. There are only eight or nine women on the list, some highly influential works are ranked below works of questionable literary merit
Literary merit
Literary merit is a quality generally applied to the genre of literary fiction. A work is said to have literary merit if it is a work of quality, that is if it has some aesthetic value....
, and the works of major writers from many English-speaking countries apart from the USA and England - such as Australia, India, Canada, Sri Lanka and South Africa - have been ignored. There were also hypotheses that the Modern Library merely made a selection based on its stocklist. A. S. Byatt
A. S. Byatt
Dame Antonia Susan Duffy, DBE is an English novelist, poet and Booker Prize winner...
, the well-known English novelist who was on the board, called the list "typically American."
The list was compiled via approval voting
Approval voting
Approval voting is a single-winner voting system used for elections. Each voter may vote for as many of the candidates as the voter wishes. The winner is the candidate receiving the most votes. Each voter may vote for any combination of candidates and may give each candidate at most one vote.The...
, by sending each board member a list of 440 pre-selected books from the Modern Library catalogue and asking each member to place a check beside novels they wished to choose. Then the works with the most votes were ranked the highest, and ties were broken arbitrarily by Random House publishers. This explains surprising results like the #5 placement of Brave New World
Brave New World
Brave New World is Aldous Huxley's fifth novel, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540 , the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The future society is an embodiment of the ideals that form the basis of...
, which most of the judges agreed belonged somewhere on the list, but much lower than the very top.
David Ebershoff
David Ebershoff
David Ebershoff is an American-born writer, editor, and teacher.-Biography:Born in Pasadena, California, he is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Chicago, and studied at Keio University in Tokyo....
, the Modern Library division's publishing director, stated in a follow-up "the people who were drawn to go to the Modern Library Web site and compelled to vote have a certain enthusiasm about books and their favourite books that many people don't, so that the voting population is skewed." In addition, people were allowed to vote repeatedly, once per day, making the poll a measure of how much effort people would put into promoting their favorite books. Others have been more direct in their descriptions of the results; librarian Robert Teeter remarks that the ballot boxes were "stuffed by cultists." (The Reader's List in a way criticizes itself, with the inclusion of Darrell Huff's How to Lie with Statistics
How to Lie with Statistics
How to Lie with Statistics is a book written by Darrell Huff in 1954 presenting an introduction to statistics for the general reader. Huff was a journalist who wrote many "how to" articles as a freelancer, but was not a statistician....
in the best non-fiction category.)
External links
- The Modern Library
- Modern Library: 100 Best Novels
- Modern Library: 100 Best Nonfiction
- CNN - 100 best novels list draws heavy dose of criticism
- Collecting the Modern Library
- History of the Modern Library (speech) by Henry Toledano
- On the Trail of the Torch Bearer: An Interview with Henry Toledano
- On the Trail of the Torch Bearer: An Interview with Scot Kamins