The Collective Reader: Tracing the Evolution of Book Clubs Through Time
Book clubs have become synonymous with the image of a group of friends gathering around with a glass of wine and nibbles to discuss the latest book they’ve read. In most recent years that image might be constructed of Jane Fonda and Diane Keaton gossiping over one Christian Grey, whose story they read almost embarrassedly, but one that they could not put down. There’s a simple nostalgia that accompanies the idea of a book club, a sense of old-fashioned community and comfort that provides a stark contrast to today’s technologically dominated world. This iconography is not an all-encompassing representation of all of the different book clubs out there today. If you can imagine a subject for a book club, there most likely is one. It is also the case that book clubs did not start out as a social gathering to discuss the latest fiction novel, but as meetings to discuss the Bible and philosophy.
Anne Hutchinson
One of the earliest instances of a book club was Anne Hutchinson’s Bible study group, in Massachusetts Bay Colony, in 1634. Anne Hutchinson, born in England, travelled to Massachusetts in 1634 and her teachings that were based on the questioning of traditional gender roles struck fear in the religious leaders of the colony. Hutchinson was excommunicated from the colony and moved to Rhode Island. One of the most important elements to Hutchinson’s group was that it brought together women who lacked a formal education into a community that were free to discuss and debate weekly sermons and religious text.
The following century gave way to a version of book clubs that we are more familiar with today. There was a rise in the accessibility of secular literature, especially to women, which meant that there were more ‘reading circles’ throughout Europe and America. Again, many of these groups were made up of women who lacked a formal education and were vital for self-education, intellectual engagement and a social connection outside of the domestic sphere. The women would discuss literature, poetry and other writings that were a far cry away from the Bible study groups a century earlier. One of the most notable ones being Hannah Mather Crocker’s Circle, in Boston, in the 1780s. Like Hutchinson, Crocker was one of the earliest advocates for women’s rights, and her ‘reading circle’ reflected that.
Margaret Fuller
Just over half a century later the journalist Margaret Fuller held her first session entitled ‘Conversations’ in 1839. Fuller was a prominent trail blazer of women’s rights, encompassed by her being the first American female war correspondent, in the 1840s, during the Italian revolution. The ‘Conversations’ were a way for women to debate, in Fuller’s words, “What were we born to do? How shall we do it?” It was a platform for women to discuss intellectual ideas and challenge societal norms, and they often used literature to encourage critical thinking. As the nineteenth century progressed book clubs became even more popular with the likes of ‘Sorosis’ in 1868, when a group of female journalists and authors were denied tickets for a dinner hosted by Charles Dickens. Women such as Jane Cunningham Croly, Josephine Pollard and Fanny Fern Parton. The club was aimed at improving women’s status in both the domestic and public spheres. They would discuss and present on different forms of literature that related back to their inaugural message of women’s rights.
Eustace Seligman in 1949 for Time Magazine
The twentieth century saw a fundamental change to the organisation of book clubs, that up until that point had been in-person and relatively small. The first major instance of this was the introduction of ‘the Book-of-the-Month Club’ in 1926. Copywriter Harry Scherman, along with his partners, Max Sackheim, and Charles and Albert Boni created the club after there was a failure to drum up interest in their new publishing company, Little Leather Library. The idea was to have a panel of judges choose books to send out to the subscribers, the first one being Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend. Interestingly, the book has been described as an early feminist classic, which continues the idea that book clubs were, for the most part, targeted at women. To begin with the club started out with 4,000 subscribers and within twenty years that number jumped to more than 550,000 subscribers. The first subscriber to the club was a New York lawyer, Eustace Seligman, and he was still a subscriber twenty-three years later. In a move that would make every bibliophile and bookworm proud, he still had all of the books in his collection. The model of this book club meant that reading was much more accessible on an larger scale, thereby, influencing reading habits on a larger scale too.
Then in 1996 Oprah Winfrey launched her book club which took book clubs and the books she chose to a whole other level. The first book Oprah selected was Jacquelyn Mitchard’s novel The Deep End of the Ocean. The ‘Oprah effect’ fully took hold, whereby, many previously unknown authors became bestsellers overnight, and established authors saw renewed sales and attention. When Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon was selected in 1996 it became a national bestseller, even though it was initially published in 1977. Oprah’s Book Club has been recognised for celebrating a wide range of diverse voices and through that exposing readers to books they might not have necessarily heard of before. Oprah fostered reading communities and brought them into the mainstream, creating a platform for readers to engage and connect with literature, in a much bigger way than had ever been done before. There were segments on her television show and later online platforms encouraged conversations and debates over literature. Oprah’s Book Club, in one form or another, has been a part of society since 1996 and is still active today.
The Junto Club
Whilst this blog post has been predominantly focused on how women shaped book clubs and vice-versa, a special mention must be made to a club that was started in 1927 by one Benjamin Franklin. The Junto, or Leather Apron Club, was a group that was based around the discussion and debate of topics that would better the members and their society. Originally, it comprised of twelve members from diverse backgrounds and occupations, the idea behind this was to be able to get different viewpoints on topics. They would use literature comprised of essays and books to base their discussions on. Whilst in the traditional sense it would not necessarily be classed as a book club, it paved the way for many in the future. The first major instance of this was in 1731 when ‘The Library Company of Philadelphia’ was established, it was born out of the need for the members to have better access to books, and it became the first public lending library in the American colonies.
Charles Shillito wrote a satirical poem, in 1788, entitled ‘The Country-Book Club’ where he wrote of a gathering which focused more on “sweets of lit’rature – and wine” than on deep literary analysis. The social element that Shillito highlighted certainly fits with the image that was provoked at the beginning of this blog post of Jane Fonda and Diane Keaton gossiping over Mr. Grey. However, it must not be forgotten that the origins of the book club were to give women access to a space of education and self-improvement through literature. Arguably, nowadays, there has been a blending of the two. On one hand the sense of community that comes with being in a book club comes with the social element, however, on the other hand there is still the environment of acquiring knowledge.
About the Author
Grace E. Turton is an aspiring historical consultant with an MA in Social History and BA in History & Media from Leeds Beckett University. Grace specializes in British and Italian history but loves reading and researching about all aspects of history. In her free time, you can find her exploring the Yorkshire Dales with her dog Bear, watching classic films and playing rugby league. Grace is passionate about keeping history alive and believes that an integral part of this is maintained through History Through Fiction’s purpose.
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