Daily Tombstone epitaph., 1886-01-29
Julian Hawthorne's Ideas.


 Mir. Julian Hawthorne, the novelist, was recently interviewed by Chicago Daily NeaoS reporter The conversation turned upon the estimation placed by Europeans on American works of fiction, and the question was asked:
 "Do you think the American novel is growing in popularity abroad, and what are its distinctive features thought to be by forcigners?"
 growing in popularity abroad, especial ly in England, as will be seen by the frequent English reprints of our better novels The reason for this is that there are at present SO few tolerable novelists in England. The English novel has been written to death,s and, as even novel-readers must have occasional nov city, they turn to our books with relief. The distinctive features of our work probably appear to them to be new sit nations, social conditions, and types of character and certain minute accuracy of treatment from the literary point of view. Average English novel-writing is very slip-shod and careless"
 What is your opinion of the school of mental vivisection'p"
 ''I am not myself in sympathy with that school. Mental vivisection' is easy writing, but hard writing. I think it is due to lack of mental energy and of imagination in those who practice it. It amounts to importing your note books into your story, instead of show ing only the results and embodiment of previous analysis, and is done by Shakespeare and the best writer's"
 Do you consider this departure of literature q part of the progress of the time or morbid outcome of days too prosperous for romanceP"
 ''I think it has nothing to do with the progress of the time. It only indicates that our novelists make less use of their imagination than any other class of our community. Perhaps the recognition they receive is too faint to stimulate them. The difficulty is certainly not on the side of any deficiency of stirring times. Timidity and lack of self-conf- dence have more to do with it. Our writers consider their audience too much no audience that they can reach is worth considerings as a literary tri- bunal. inspiration is deprecated, as if it must be either untrustworthy or ill- bred. A masculine poet or novelist is much needed, and it might be we'll, at this stage of our literary history, to make it penal offense for any woman to write a story"
 Do modern novelists make their men and women do nothing but sit still and talk because there is nothing else for them to dop"
 'I shall rather say because it is easier to write clever dialogue than to portray characteristic action."
 What are your methods of workingP Do you depend principally upon your observations or on your imaginationp"
 Observation is always of assistance in imaginative work if it can be suffi- ciently emancipated from individual in- stances. On the other hand, nothing spells fictitious character so surely as to make it conform too closely to any real model The requirements of the story must be allowed to mold and adapt it or the story will be ruined"
 Do you have regular hours for work or do you wait for an inspiration?"
 'I never wait for an inspiration, and am not aware of having every been vis- ited by any. generally take walk in the morning and write in the afternoon and evening. But keep no strict rule in such matters.
 Do you know what the terrible se- cret' of 'sThe Marble Fam' was, or what the mystery that surrounded Miriamp"
 ''lf 1 knew would tell with pleasure. My father never explained it, because it did not come within the design of the story that the secret should be anything but typical secret-a human being polluted by involuntary association with the sin of others. The Cenci tragedy is an instance eff such an occurrence, and is therefore made prominent in the story, but whether or not Miriam was the victim of similar castrophe was her private business, and of no import to the moral of the tale"
 e---=--