The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-02

harrington, a young Indianian, whose
nrsl novel is to begin serial publication
shortly in one of the leading magazines.
ana now learn that the state also has
a certain claim on Miss Anna Far
quhar, whose first novel, THE Profess
sor Daughter" has just finished SER
IA publication in the Saturday Evening
Post, and is to appear shortly in book
form. don't know that Miss Faruuhar
IS a native of Indiana, and at present
she does not live there, but at Boston.
ABOUT the time she was born, however,
her father, John H. Farquhar, was one
OF the representatives of Indiana in
congress, and a man of much promi-
nence and Importance in the state. Miss
tarquhar has decided musical talents,
anu her determination at one time was
for career as an operatic singer. For
several years she studied very hard TO
this end, first in Boston and New York,
and then in Europe. But it finally an
peared that her physical powers were
quite UNEQUAL to the vocation she had
chosen, and she abandoned it about
three years ago and turned to writing.
Durlng her musical studies she had
tried her hand little by writing some
musical criticisms for the newspapers.
Sne now became a foreign correspond
ent of the Boston Transcript, and she
wrote novelette,, a story of musical
life. entitled, "A Singers Heart" and
promptly found publisher for it. The
book made good, though not a large
or startling impression, and gave at
least strong intimation of the ability
that is fully declared in THE Profess
sor's Daughter" Some time ago there
appeared in the Ladies Home Journal
a series of articles on social life in
Washington, written manifeStly from
the closest personal acquaintance with
the subject. AS they were published
anonymously there was a good deal of
speculation as to who could be the
author of them. 1t has lately been dis
closed that they were written by Miss
Farquhar. She is a woman of great en-
thusiasm and persistence, and as she is
now but a little past so years of age,
she bids fair with the distinguished be-
ginning she has made, to become in a
few years one of the foremost of Amer
lean authors.
The Englishmen do really seem to
be our betters in the art of following
woodworking as a plain, straightout
business. Mr.. Howells, Mr.. Stockton
and Mr.. Marion Crawford pursue. the
craft with pretty fair regularity, Civ
ing us a, tale of abut SO many thou
sand words in about so many months.
But they are almost our only instances.
| With the larger number of our story
writer's the intervals between books are
quite irregular and uncertain, and the
| length and character of the books are
no less various One is impressed with
the difference in considering an Eng
fish example like w. E. Norris. Look
over a lot of English reviews of new
| novel by Norris; they all begin with a
reference to the readers certainty as to
| the kind of entertainment he may eX-
| pect from a, novel of Norris and a
compliment to the author for his faith-
fulresS in never disappointing the pub
! lie in either the time or manner OF his
appearances. The reason the reviews
| all begin in this way is because the fact
| is so obvious. Mr. Norris never does
disappoint. For upward of twenty years
now he has been turning out novels of
the most uniform quality at the most
regular rate. His general way of life is
as assured and orderly as the appear
! ance Of his works. He has a country
home at Torquay, on the shore of the
English channel. and there, in study
commanding a beautiful outlook, he
writes his daily portion calmly and
unfailingly. He cannot dictate; but he
employs a secretary to make g fair
copy for him. With all his method,
however, ne Is IlOI ABOVE ldklnS SOOQ
holiday: and for this he is rather AIT
to go to Paris, of which he is quite
fond. Like so many authors, he was
educated for the law, but never prac-
ticed.
The reproach, repeated rather often,
that American literature has distinctly
declined of late in the department of
criticism, has never seemed to me to be
quite justified. But those who feel that
it is might take some comfort from a
group of young critics who are every
dav becoming a more distinct and rec
! ognized force. In this group one might
name especially Professor George r.
Carpenter, Professor W. p Trent, John
]. Chapman and Norman Hapgood; and
it is interesting to note from what di-
versity either of locality or emaloy-
ment, they are all laboring in one gen.
eral line, and to substantially the same
end Mr.. Carpenter and Mr.. Trent are
of the same vocation, college professors
in the department of literature: but
one is in a metropolitan establishment,
Columbia, here in New York, while the
other is in college in Tennessee. Mr..
Chapman is a lawyer, practicing al the
New York bar, and as much interested
in politics and public questions as in
literature. Mr.. Hapgood, on the other
hand, is newspaper man, his special
charge being the department of dra-
matte criticism for the New York Com
mercial Advertiser.
E. C. MARTIN. T.