The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-08-20
In WOMAN'S BEHALF.
LoNDoN,s LITERARY WOMEN.
Their standing and Growing Power I'm the
World Of Literature.

LoNDoN'S LITERARY WOMEN.
Their standing and Growing Power In the
World Of Literature.
One watches with interest every in
nOvation that effects the conditions Of
life for literary women, now that this
life is being broadened and developed
so rapidly. Perhaps of all the changes
that have taken place in woman's
world, none has been SO great and none
so little realized as that between her
old and her new position in literature.
One has only to remember how fifty or
even twenty-five years ago the woman
who wrote was exceptional, tolerated
by few, sneered at as blue-stocking
by the many, and then see how. now
adays, she is accepted as a matter Of
course. One of the leading London
publishers, talking to me the other day,
told me he was more and more struck,
rs time went on, with the conspicuous
part English women were playing in
the literature of their country. Every
day, it seemed to him, more came with
MSS. and schemes to submit to his con-
sideration, and, what is of further
significance, these MSS. and schemes
were also growing daily in commercial
value and importance. 1t is only right,
in passing, to call attention to the fact
that woman's very literary success
threatens her literary excellence. In
literature the number of its professors
Is not the main consideration.
OF course there are literary women
the world over. and in towns like Paris
and Boston and New York, they take a
vc-y prominent place But it is above
all in English-speaking races that wom-
m has within the last generation boldly
adopted literature as profession. and
for all Engllsh-speaking races London
is the headquarters. The British mu-
scum alone would be enough to attract
her, even as it proves a magnet to the
literary man. To be sure, in the Brit
ish museum one never sees the women
who have made the greatest regulations
! remember, on my first visit, how ea-
ger l was to have all the celebrities
pointed out to me, and how disappoint-
ed when the official. who was showing
me around, asked me if had never
heard Of the poor devil who came to
drudge for the great man or woman.
And indeed, most of the women who
are daily habitues of the reading room
and they are many-are the veriest
hacks, making research on commission
or drudging for publishers and editors
on starvation wage.
Now that the literary women of Lon
don have become social leaders in the
large literary and artistic set, now that
their influence is SO keenly felt in the
publishing world, it may at first seem
strange that they have not combined
forces and formed themselves into some
sort of an association, defensive and
progressive. But that they have not
is really proof that they understand
their position too well, and that they
frankly equalize the doctrine preached
by women reformers, that when the two
sexes share the same interests and work,
they should meet on equal grounds.
Women as well us men who write, be-
long to the Society of Authors. When
the society was started Mr.. Walter BE.
SAINT promised mans strong protection
to all poor, weak women authors. But
Mrs. Fenwick Miller, in good, strong
language, protested, declaring that il
women were not received as members
on exactly the same footing as men,
they would far better not be received
at all.
But there is one distinction made in
this society to which, strange to say.
no woman has SO far taken objection.
The council and executive committee
are composed as exclusively of men as
the houses of parliament. Since many
women of high literary standing are in.
cluded among the members. it would
seem but a fair arrangement if they toe
were represented in the management OF
the association.-Elizabe beth X. fennell,
in chaufaunnan