The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-09
SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. FEBRUARY O. 1902.

when short, natty looking young wo-
man walked In and announced her
sslf as Henry Somerville, author Of
Jack Racer" She had been aided in
her disguise by the fact
masculine hand. When her
publishers had asked for photo
graph she borrowed a coat and hat
from her uncle and by a careful pose
had made up a passably good likeness
OF a young man. lack Racer had
been put out as the first work OF a
newly discovered author OF consio-
cradle promise. but Mary Gay Hum
phries is a writer of much experience.
She has already written sequel to
her Jack Racer" which will be pub
lished some time this year under the
title Racer of Illinois" The idea or
writing under an assumed name came
to her after she had been out of active
literary work for several months. She
had been spending a long period in the
Philippines as a nurse and, on her re-
turn to this country, she wanted to
try the experiment of starting afresh,
so far as the public was concerned.
No two authors follow the same
method in their work. Balzac preferred
to write in bed, in a sort of conven>
| lent. one piece suit OF clothes, which
required no time to put on or of. Wins
ton Churchill hired an office and
worked a certain number of hours in II
| at his writing. There are all sorts OF
ways, just as there are all sorts or
| authors, but to those interested in
writing the methods of Sir James
Paget, as revealed in his recently pub
| lished memoirs, will be at least sur
| prising. He possessed the ramakble
| ability to write, read or study in a
room filled with people and was un-
disturbed by conversation. music or any
| confusion going on about him. To
most writer's this kind of intellectual
| effort would have been impossible, but
Sir James Paget had carefully culti-
waited the plan. He accustomed HIM
| self first, so he writes, to the con-
| congenial company of his wife and
| then later on was able to do his work
| no matter what the people in the same
room might be doing.
II have never once needed" he said.
ito leave my family or any tolerably
| quiet party of friends in order to work
| alone or undisturbed; whether for
| writing, reading or any similar work,
no kind OF good music or talking has
ever interrupted me; / have thorough
| ly enjoyed them even while at work.
The first of series OF books on the
| artistic crafts just published under
| the title of "Bookbinding and the Care
! of Books" will, as may be seen from
| its name, be of especial interest to
| book lovers The volume is designed
| first for the use of authors, book
| binders and librarians, but its use and
| enjoyment will not be restricted to
| these As a matter of fact the num-
Der of private individuals, who may
| be classed as amateurs, interested IN
book collecting. not as a fad, but more
as an avocation, is constantly increas-
ing. Only the other day Western
man of whom the general public had
/ never heard sent his library of twelve
thousand exceedingly rare and valuable
volumes to New York to be sold
| Doubtless, there are many of these
book lovers scattered about the coun-
| try whose presence is known prac.
tically only to the rare book dealers
of New York and London.
|. Literature" the kell-known weekly
esta blished several years ago by the
London Times under the editorship o1
II. d. Traill. no longer exists. Foi
some time its publication has not beer
profitable and now the periodical mas
| been absorbed, name and ALL by th'
Academy" A year or so ago New
York publishing house undertook T.
issue an American edition of "Litera
ture" and John Kendrick Bangs wal
chosen as the one who should guido
it's young footsteps. This venture
however, was short lived. For some
reason, probably because it was toe
entirely English and above the heads ol
the average readers, it did not succeed
| in American surroundings. Ht is IN
teresting to note, now, that. either be-
cause conditions have changed IN Eng
land or the publication was similarly
unsuited there, its fortunes have Jared
no better in the land of its birth.
During the coming spring season
several well-known authors from the
other side OF the Atlantic will contrib
| ute books, which will be among the
| AnleI lean lists. Sir Walter Besant's
autobiography is strangely announced
as volume particularly free from per-
sonal reference. 1t has been otf
affirmed and denied that George Mare
dith is working on his autobiography
] though, ii the report be true, the book
| would probably not appear before next
/ year. Selma Uagerlof, the brilliant
| Swedish author, will bring out a move
entitled Jerusalem" and Joseph Con
rad is about to begin serially a neN
| sea story, "Typhoon" both i'm this
| country and in England Charles Mar