While searching for (old) news of my family in 1896, I ran across this gem by Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine:
A century ago, Hall Caine (1853-1931) was quite the celeb. Wikipedia indicates his "popularity during his lifetime was unprecedented. He wrote 15 novels on subjects of adultery, divorce, domestic violence, illegitimacy, infanticide, religious bigotry and women's rights, became an international literary celebrity, and sold a total of ten million books. Caine was the most highly paid novelist of his day."
At his death some 60,000 people gathered to watch Caine's coffin pass on its 25-mile journey to a church yard on the Isle of Man.
Just who WAS this guy? Outside of a president or Keith Richards, I don't know that I'd stand in a crowd on a hot August day to wait for a coffin to pass.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_Caine
Just checked. Tulsa's library has one of his books. A copy is now on my tablet via the library's marvelous assistant, LIBBY.