The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-02-01
The Great American Novel,

Mrs. Frances Hodgson-Burnett, who
sailed for Europe Saturday from New
York, has an ambition TO write the much
talked-of and long-expected great Amer
lean novel" In fact, Mrs. Burnett has
already written part of the story, which
she hopes the public and the critics will
receive as a work meeting the expecta-
tons of a really great American master
piece.
THE main object of my journey to Lon
don," said Mrs. Burnett to correspond
ent before her departure for Europe. is
the completion of a story in which have
been really interested for years. 1t will
be, I think, my best work-the achieve
ment of my life. 1 have always so re-
garded it. and yet. strange to say, have
allowed years TO intervene between Its
beginning and completion.
This new book win be called The Great
WiIloughby Claim That at least is what
I have called il up TO the present time.
That is the name by which the Scribners
have read il, and they are now urging
me TO complete it. But 1t frequently hap
pens that as q story progresses the title
that seemed applicable at the start wholly
loses its identity with the completed work
So IL may turn out with The Great VII
loughby Claim
why am l so fond of the story? Well,
it was begun long years ago, when I first
came to Washington-in fact, before Lit
tie Lord Fauntleroy' was written or in
deed even thought Of As / remember /
was engaged in writing The Great VIII
loughby Claim when one morning found
myself sitting before my manuscript,
without even a thought. Ny mind SEEM
ed suddenly to have become blank and
pushed the written pages from me.
Then somehow suddenly 1 took up pen
Gil and fresh paper and began to scribble
away for dear life-on what do you think?
'Fauntleroy.'
II meant it then simply for short sto-
~. That is a fashion l have, by the way.
of beginning to write a short story, and
then becoming so interested in my work
that almost before I know it the tale has
heightened out into a book That is the
way 1 wrote "A Lady of Quality 1t was
begun as a short story.
But to get back to The Great Willough-
by Claim The idea of writing 1t first
came into my mind because of a discus
sion l heard as to the great American
novel Now, as most people construe this,
the great American novel means one TO
be written by an American. In this sense,
l could never compete for the honor since
I am an English woman. But the con-
strUction ] put upon the term, the great
American novel, is one that shall embody
that shall show the dialects of various
parts of the country; that shall TEEN with
life as it is all over the great American
continent. And this can not be done with
out a frequent change of scene 1t has
so far never been successfully done at
ALL NY aim shall be to introduce as many
types as possible TO cover an extent of
territory and TO give as much real atmos-
phere as lies within the story-teller's art.
The Great Willoughby Claim" be-
gins with the scene laid in small arts
tocratic southern town. Then ii shifts
to the mountains of North Carolina,
mining region. Then it goes on to fash
ionable southern resort, some such place
of which the White Sulphur is typical in
America. From there the story goes to a
manufacturing town, some such New En-
gland town as Springfield or Hartford,
and from there to a small village. Then
comes Washington.
''You see, I am really interested in this,
what 1 now look upon as my greatest
work. and what hope TO make the great
American novel. This is the principal
work 1 shall hope to accomplish while In
London 1 shall remain in England until
the last page is completed