Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-03-13

the nom de plume Sarah Grand, and the story is now reaching the phenomenal fig ures representing the sales which Mrs. Humphry Ward s first novel, ''Robert Els mere," secured.
 A book which makes hit creates a sen- sation in publishing circles quite as great as 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 8 pleasant repute when with "That Lass O Lowrie'sn she secured permanent and widespread recognition. General Lew Wallace also had a national repute when 'Ben-H Hur" appeared, but that was due to his achievements as an officer ill the civil war.
 Mime. 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 Flu rope that it had caused a sensation upon its appearance there, and that, like almost all the stories which had gained remarka- ble successes, it 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- ble consideration of publishers.
 But since the first of the year it has en- tered upon it's American triumphs. Edi- tion after edition has been struck off, and still the booksellers call for more and this experience is a refutation 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 HRobert Els mere.' That story, the work of an Eng fish woman, owed some of it's success to adventitious aid, the chance and favoring comment of MT. Gladstone, and there are many who believe that but for that cir cumstance it never could have attracted the attention which it secured. Mme. Brands story had no such happy adver- tisement. It was published without caus- ing any comment and for some weeks at tracted 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 "The Heavenly Twins" had made hit.
 It is another illustration of the fact that probably the best, certainly the most pop ular fiction for manb years written in the English language has been the work of women. Mrs. Stowe's "Uncle Toms Cab in, written by 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- tery behind her masculine nom de plume, is today read more frequently in her ear Her than in her later works.
 Miss Alcott for many years the un- 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,
 
 copies have been sold-"The Lamplight- er.''
 Olive Schreiner, that young woman liv- ing a lonely life in distant Africa, wrote a 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 "The Wide, Wide World" and Miss Evans, with ''St. Elmo' and "Beulah," commanded public which very few male writers of fiction have been able to secure in America, and it was reserved for Mrs. Ward and Mme. Grand to write and pub fish stories whose sales have reached in the aggregate more than l ,0o0, 900 copies, and which have commanded earnest and respectful criticism from the most accom- plished critics, while gaining popularity supposed to be impossible of attainment for any stories of more than trivial import.
 Kipling, Doyle and Barry, Wallace and John Habberton, Bret Harte and Mark Twain are the only men who have written fiction in the past 25 years whose works have commanded a popularity or success which can be compared with that secured by these women of genius.
 E. J. EDWARDS.