Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021         Page 243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287 of 1029

And then after considerable more battling I got him up to 2500, and finally wringing with perspiration, I got him up to 5000. He had started at 250! Williams said, “Well, are you satisfied?”

I said, “Yes, at last you've given me the right order.”

He opened a drawer and handed me a typewritten order, made out before I came, for 5000 copies! He said, “I thought I'd make you work for it.”

Was this typical of the way he worked?

Well, he had never done this before, but it really was a masterly performance. Of course they sold them all, too, and thousands beside. Ulysses was a great best seller.

Did they then continue to distribute a lot more of your books?

Of course. They still do. But gradually the News Company lost its importance as a book distributor. Gradually they seemed to lose interest in books. They still have a big book department, but it's nothing to what it was originally. What with paperbacks, book clubs and discount houses, the whole distribution of books has been revolutionized in the last 40 years or 30 years. But then the News Company was very potent.

It's amazing how Ulysses sold and how the American public took to it.