The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-10-04
An ORHand Chat With the Son
of the Great Novelist.
SHORT STORIES IN DEMAND.
Novel and Poetry Writing Not Profit.
abie-The HoweIls-James School
Survivors OF the Family.

am busy man, and have not much time for
interviews, but if You will come to the office of
n" tae rear Round tomorrow, at noon, viii be
glad to see YOU CHARLES DICKENS
Mr.. Dickens is not a man who would at
tract attention in a crowd. He is not i'm
posing In appearance. He looks like a lit
erary man. His shoulders stoop and he
looks at the visitor quizzically through
gold-rimmed spectacles. He was seated at
his desk hard at work when I called. He
wore rather rakish deer stalker hat, and
loose-fitting suit of blue clothing. His
manner was rather abrupt, but before
had been speaking to him for five minutes.
l discovered that he possessed vein of
dry humor, both genial and pleasant. The
office of AU the Year Round is q somewhat
dingy corner shop, which, however, is
frequently enliyened by the passage
through it of various young
ladies, engaged in Miss Dick
EMS typewriting establishment which
has its offices on the same premises Mr..
Dickens editorial Office is situated on the
first floor 1t is somewhat meagerly fur
nished, and there is an unmistakable air
OF hard work about it. Mr.. Dickens is no
toy editor. Having installed myself in a
chair with particularly hard seat, l pro-
ceeded to cross-examine the son of the
great novelist.
"In the first place, would you tell me
what the various members of the Dickens
family are doing at PRESENT."
GLADLY" was the reply. People con-
tinually write to know what my sisters
and brothers are about, and [ am glad to
be able to let them know in this way. My
sister Mary, the second of the family, is
unmarried, and manages a type-writing
establishment in this very building.
My second sister, Catherine Eliza
beth Macready, married Carlo Pei
legrini, the artist, and is an
artist herself, as you may know. My elder
sister does not do any literary work. She
edited my fathers letters, but at present
she has nothing to do with literature. /
have two brothers in Australia The elder,
Alfred Tennyson, is in business as a mer-
chant in Melbourne. The youngest, Ed.
ward Bulwer Lytton, is connected with
the sheep-farming interest, and is men,
Der of the New South Wales parliament.
] have also another brother in London,
Henry Fielding who has a very large
practice at the bar. Those of my brothers
who are dead were Walter Landor, Sydney
Smith. Francis Jeffrey, the latter of whom
died at Moline, ILL.,, and is buried there on
the beautiful bluff overlooking the Missis-
sippi. All my brothers were named after
literary men. My second sister was
named after Macready, the actor. With
regard to myself, edit All the Year Round
and Household Words as well. have also
large printing business and in the win
ter | travel all over the country, giving
readings from my fathers works, the same
as gave in America. They are those that
he used to read himself"
"Do your fathers works sell now, Mr..
Dickens?"
II think they do, but I cannot say for
certain. have nothing to do with them :
the copyrights do not belong to us; they
were sold after my fathers death by the
executors. But they do sell well, un-
doubtedly."
"a good many of the copyrights have
run out?"
Eyes, think all the copyrights down to
David Copperfield' have expired. That is
not out yet / don't know exactly when
it will be, but l think next year"
Ibid your father leave anything I'M
printed2"
No, he left no papers at all, altho ugh it
is often reported that he did. He had a
quantity of letters from eminent people,
but he burnt them all. He did not keep
them. When ] say none, there were so
few that there were practically none"
and his library?"
at was not O very remarkable library,
and 1t was sold. 1t was merely a useful
one. My father was not a collector of
books. 1t was a very good collection of
fiction and general literature, that was
all.'
The conversation then drifted into an
other channel.
How do you think public taste is tend
ing as regards tiction or story telling2'
Il think the public is getting to take to
their fiction in small doses. They haven't
time to read much. This is very busy
age. And q novel TO sell must be strong
don't think people buy book because it
is sold for shilling. Any book will sell
well if it has good name to il"
''Do you think novelists have as good a
chance now as they did when your father
wrote? ?"
What do You mean by novelists? Do
you mean Dickens or an ordinary writer
of tiction?"
Take fairly clever writer of fiction for
example"
Il think such a one had better chance
then than now. There is more demand
for that class of work, but on the other
hand there are great many more people
to supply that demand"
Women, l believe, do a great deal of
this work in England? 2"
Yes, very great deal | believe that
women can do just as well as men except
when they are impeded by their physical
weakness. They are not suited for press
work simply on this account. They can't
stand the wear and tear that the average
writer or newspaper man has TO put up
with"
with regard to newspaper work, you
have served an apprenticeship TO the news
Eyes. have done my share In fact I
have had q turn at every branch of literary
work l have been at it for four and
twenty years.
And would you advise young man or
woman with fair talent to go in for. a
literary life?"
That. of course. depends on their fit
ness. There is no doubt that il is a very
hard life, and il is not too well paid
More fail than succeed. 1t is precarious. ="
"You have rather pessimistic opinion
of literature as bread winner?"
That's because I've seen q lot of il,
suppose. However, | can't object to it
very strongly, as my son is my sub-editor
writes novels for us.
do you think the standard of literary
work now produced is as high as it was
formerly ?"
mo, / do not. To use an expression
that Americans will understand very we'll
we have some pretty good tall hills, but
there is no Mount Shasta That is about
what the matter is on both sides of the
water"
How do you account for this? Do YOU
think il Is the high pressure at which work
h rsah -, doxy