The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-11-27
FRANCIS MARION CRAWFORD
The Famous Novelist Returns to Amer
lea After an Absence of Ten Years.
He Tells Why BE Has Lived Abroad, Talks Of
His Own Work and that Of Others. and
Gives His Idea Of the Uses Of the Novel.


Special Correspondence Of the Sunday Journal.
NEW YORK. Nov. 26.-Maripn Crawford
did not reach New York until Wednesday
evening. He was aboard the North German
Lloyd steamer Fulds from Genoa, which
arrived ct the bar at 800. and at once
passed to her dock. He immediately took
up his headquarters at the Everett House,
where he plans to remain for q few days.
until he has completed arran gements with
Major Pond for readings. which be intends
to give IN New York and Boston.
lie is ten years since Mr.. Crawford was
here. He sas born in q little town just ont
of Rome. waere his father, Thomas Craw-
ford, the noted sculptor, made his home,
and all his sisters were born In Rome. Still
he is an American. he declares. and he owns
Q farm up in New Hampshire, where he In
tends TO live some day. and he means to give
HE boys an American education, probably at
ST. Paups School, in Concord. n. IL, where
he himself was educated. But having
lived in Italy so much, he TOOK To himself
q wife there, and has made his home just
beyopd Sorrento, where he has q villa in
which were written the greater number of
his famous novels, with his wife as his
collaboration. She reads all the criticisms
OF DIS UOUkS tnAL lno kDctAc.
send him, selecting such as rae thinks may
interest him and reading them aloud To
her husband. To her he reads aloud his
books as he writes them, pase By page, and
it 10 she-and Frederick Macmilian-who
give him all his advice.
Marion Crawford is q young man, tall
and well formed. We who have known
him by his only published portraits think
of him as q man with q fine beard, but no
hasn't that now; only q clear brown mus
faehe, with brown hair decidedly darker.
His manner have much of the Italian ease
and grace. and his tongue catches the
Italian accent now and then, IN spite of the
fact that he is q genuine American. He does
not take life too seriously; he Is fond OF
good living and good society. and there
can be no doubt that in Rome he was q Ro-
man. q genuine Der OF that peculiar
and highly interesting society which ne
has described SO carefully in the series OF
novels beginning with "Saraeinesca" and
coming down not only to Don Orsino."
just published, but IncInding another story,
which he considers the best of them all.
which will begin shortly as an Illustrated
serial in the Ladies' Pictorial, a very high
priced London periodical. lie has also
completed another novel of Italian sea life,
which will come out as a book some time
In January, probably.
WHY HE LIVES n
81 have not lived away from my own
country because / wished il or thought it
better for my literary work, only because
circumstances compelled me-" said he
when ] called to see him yesterday. II
have regretted it, and i mean to come to
New York TO live yet. L should like to
Try TO write about New York society, bu. l
Am q little afraid, especially when Mr..
HOWELL has done it so well. and i know so
little of i. i have a great admiration for
what Mr.. Howells has done In building up
the American novel. and i am reluctant TO
r. IN c1uanafa with him
Il have often told the story OF how | 6e-
gan to write. Ii Was by mere accident. /
was in India and knew the story OF Mr..
Jacobs and more for my own amusement
than anything else began to write Mr..
1saacs.' i had no idea how it was coming
out. just wrote on from page to page.
When it was done L sent 1t To some of my
friends with not an idea that it would be
published. But | had tasted blood. l
wanted To try some more. and go began
.Dr. Iaudius. In the meantime / heard
that MIR. lsaacs' was going to be published.
Which do i think the best7 You say
some like the Roman Singer That was
father q youthful attempt. There are some
tad things in it that L never took the time
70 go back and correct. l got into some
little trouble with it. and had to Kill OFF q
things as that in II. you know. u it has
been popular for it's local color. not much
else. 'Marzio's CrucIfix.' / think IS the
most perfect story. unless this one L have
l1oe
Is worked out best In it's plot and construc-
ton. most completely.
"My studies of Roman society seem to
have been very popular. OF course, when
one Is studying the same society the same
types must come in again aud again. and /
think il best 10 use the same characters more
or less Inlsucceeding books. Shall follow 10
mp with anotherf Well, 1 don't know.
book which i have been much Interested
in. They may lead me oil In another direc-
tion."
CAN'T WRITE SHORT STORIES.
You haven't written many short stories.u
i queried.
No." said he. al never could seem to dc
it. Besides. when / nave q good idea / like
20 spread it ont aud show it up well: not
compress il into q narrow compass as one
does in 9 short story. on use mp your mat
ter and don't get the money for II. Besides,
the short story has been carried to such
perfection now, so many do it so well |
don't feel altogether able TO compete with
them. And then my mind arranges a story
TO be told IN just about SO much space. and
i don't 90 below or beyond tt
Il think every good dramatic novel ought
to be able to be dramatized. though, of
course, there are q great many stories of
travel and so forth that can never make
dramas. Local color IL q good thing-in-
-teresting-but in my library i class novels
OF local color under the head of travel.
They ale travel, not novels | have made
some sketches of plans toward dramatizIng
some of my stories. such as 'Zoroaster.'
which seemed to be a pretty good sub
ject- But j never did IL. Some have
tried, though hot successfully. i believe.
The right persons did not get hold of the
matter: The proper way Is the plan
they follow out SD much in France.
There most good novels are dramatized.
The author himself. however, never
thinks OF making his own play. He
gets q collaborateur. familiar with the
arranging words 10 Do spoken instead of
tween the two. spoken and written lam
guage. On the written page capitals,
dashes. par~agraphing, all convey a mean
What would Carly les Frederick the Great
be If read asoudf oh. yes. the work is very
different. and / doubt if "A novelist could
ever hope Co succeed as a dramatist.
though. IA l nave said. with the added
skill of q dramarist every successful novel
ought to be of a kind to make "A good play"
THE NOVEL is E~PHEMERAi-
Some people talk about the Shakespeare
of the novel. hoping the novel will come TO
have n place in liters,ure with the drama.
Mr. Crawford says he thinks the novel but
an ephemeral thing. 1t has been the fash
ion only for aboat u hundred years, and in
another hundred years 1t will 90 out of
fashion again. probably. 1t is too easily
written, he says, ever 10 be- great. A man