The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-03-09

the nom de plume Sarah Grand, and the
story is now reaching the phenomenal fig
-ilres representing the sales which Mrs.
Humphry Wards first novel, ''Robert Els
mere, secured.
A book which makes hit creates SEN
cation in publishing circles quite as great
Bs is the case with readers, and with very
rare exceptions such successes come to one
who before the publication of the story
was unknown to the public. Not in all
cases, for Mrs. Burnett had already gain
ed a pleasant repute when with "That
Lass o. Lowrie's'' she secured permanent
and widespread recognition. General Lew
Wallace also had national repute when
"Ben-Hur appeared, but that was due to
his achievements as an officer in the civil
war.
Nine. Grand's story, "The Heavenly
Twins" did not command much attention
in this country until within the past few
weeks. There had come reports from Eu-
rope that it had caused a sensation upon
its appearance there, and that, like almost
all the stories which had gained remarka-
BILE successes, 1t had passed from publisher
to publisher for nearly two years before
one was found who had faith in its selling
capacity, that quality being, after all, the
one which gives to manuscript the favora-
BILE consideration of publishers.
But since the first of the year it has en-
tered upon it's American triumphs Edi-
ton after edition has been struck off, and
still the booksellers call for more, and this
experience is a REPUTATION of the assertions
of those who claim that the time has pass
ed when the English reading public can
bring splendid tributes of approval to any
work of fiction. OF course the odd name
attracted some attention, but that does
not explain the remarkable success which
this story is now experiencing.
The probabilities are, however, that no
novel will secure the enormous sale which
followed the publication of ''Robert Els
mere" That story, the work of an Eng
lish woman, owed some of it's success to
adventurous aid, the chance and favoring
comment of Mr.. Gladstone, and there are
many who believe that but for that cir
cumstance it never could have attracted
the attention which it secured. Nine
Grand's story had no such happy adver-
tisement. 1t was published without caus-
3ng any comment and for some weeks at
fracted no attention. Even the critics
passed it by lightly, as has been the case
with every story which has secured great
popular approval. BY and by some one
who read it spoke of its fascinating story
and of the delightful humor suggested by
the mischief of the twins to somebody
else, and thus by word of mouth favoring
comment was passed along until it began
to be apparent to the publishers long be-
fore the English newspapers were aware of
the fact that 1.-The Heavenly Twins" had
made hit.
1t is another illustration of the fact that
probably the best, certainly the most pop
nlar fiction for many years written in the
English language has been the work of
women. Mrs. Stoves "Uncle Toms Cab
in" written by a woman who until the
publication of that work was unknown,
still ranks every other work of fiction in
the English language in the number of
copies sold and also the number of trans
lations into foreign languages. George
Eliot, supposed to be man until Dickens
and one or two Others penetrated the mys-
terry behind her masculine nom de plume,
Is today read more frequently in her ear
lier than in her later works
Miss Alcott, for many years the I'M
known writer of short stories for the week
ly periodicals, produced by sudden inspi-
ration and extraordinarily rapid writing
the story of Little Women, - which made
her fame and fortune and is sure to re-
main an American classic. That Boston
schoolteacher, Miss Cummins. writing at
odd moments, completed a story which is
read with tears and smiles to this day.
and Of which several hundred thousand
copies have been sold-"The Lamplight-
err
Olive Schreiner, that young woman liv-
ing a lonely life in distant Africa. wrote
story fashioned somewhat upon incidents
of which she had knowledge and long be
fore she was aware of it. living so far
away from the English speaking world it
had gained an enormous circulation and
made her famous. The Warner sisters,
with 1.-The Wide, Wide World, " and Miss
Evans. with ''St. Elmo and s'Beulah.' -
commanded a public which very few male
writers of fiction have been able to secure
in America, and it was reserved for Mrs.
Ward and Nine. Grand to write and pub /
hsh stories whose sales have reached in
the aggregate more than / 600, 600 comics.
md which have commanded earnest and
respectful criticism from the most accom-
pllshed critics, while gaining popularity
supposed TO he impossible of attainment
Tor any stories of more than trivial import.
hipling, Doyle and Barry, Wallace and
John Habberton, Bret Harte and Mark
Twain are the only men who have written
fiction in the past % years whose works
have commanded a popularity or success
which can be compared with that secured
by these women OF genius.
Z. j. EDWARDS,