To prove to people just how good The Meaning of Night is, John Murray Publishers put it to the sternest test possible – they gave copies to the reading public . . .
487 keen, unbiased readers have read early copies of The Meaning of Night as part of a BML market research project. About half are subscribers to NewBooksMag, the reading groups magazine. The rest were recruited via The Reading Agency's network of library-affiliated reading groups, or are subscribers to BML's BookZone ezine. They are from all over the UK, and all ages.
This was their response:
. . . a tiny selection of comments from ordinary readers. Overall 79% of them described the book as 'good', 'great' or 'fantastic', and 75% said they would recommend it to someone else, or had already done so.
The readers were also asked, 'Which other authors or other works of fiction would you compare The Meaning of Night to?'
Top 10 Results, Authors:
- Charles Dickens
- Wilkie Collins
- Sarah Waters
- Arthur Conan Doyle
- Robert Goddard
- Charlotte Brontė
- Jane Austen
- Anne Perry
- Peter Ackroyd
- Emily Brontė
Top 10 Results, Books:
- Fingersmith
- The Shadow of the Wind
- The American Boy
- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
- The Crimson Petal and the White
- An Instance of the Fingerpost
- The Woman in White
- The Quincunx
- Bleak House
- The Dante Club
Finally they were asked to give a one-line description of their opinion of The Meaning of Night.
Top 10 Results, Adjectives used to describe The Meaning of Night:
- Intriguing
- Gripping
- Interesting
- Enjoyable
- Excellent
- Compelling
- Well-written
- Fascinating
- Clever
- Brilliant