Readers of this blog will know I have today been much entertained, even detained, by the Guardian published figures for books sold last year 2011. Playing around with the spreadsheet revealed for example that the value of all the paperback copies of Rosemary Sutcliff‘s The Eagle of the Ninth sold (in two versions) was about the same money as the paperback version of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I find that gratifying, recalling that Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel was first published nearly 60 years ago!
Click here for spreadsheet of full Guardian-Nielsen data, if you want to play too …
Yes, I’ve just spent the last hour trawling through the full list!
You may also notice that ‘Eagle’ sold three times as many copies as current Roman writer Anthony Riches [set on Hadrian’s Wall in the 180’s]
Congratulations!
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