The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-09-07
news and ljieAs Of
The Book Wcrld.
BY HERBERT BREWSTER


House With the Green Shutters" died
suddenly on the 18th ult.. came as a
great shock 10 his American admirers.
OF these there were assurediy very
many. The grim story of Scotch life
made a deep impression on everyone
who read il and. though it was the first
book by the author. he was hailed as
! the coming Balzac OF his people Lit
orally, Mr.. Brown became famous In
day, The book fell almost sim born
/ from the press in both England and
/ America. Then one OF the editors or
the London Times got hold OF a copy
and shortly there appeared review
of the story which made everyone Won
der who this young writer was that
had come down from the north TO con-
quer literary England? In this country
the book was on sale for several
months before the public began TO
talk of IL; then. suddenly, interest was
/ awakened and edition after edition was
| sold by the publishers.
| George Douglass Brown was SO years
old at his death. He had been a hard
working journalist In London ever since
! leaving Oxford, but when his first
book made the success IL did, he re-
tired from the daily grind. He took a
house in Halsemere. where Tyndali
lived. and where Grant Allen and
! Conan Doyle live now. Everything
was going we'll for she young man; he
had been in a jubilant state for the
I previous year. He had planned trip
on the continent, a tramp through
! Scotland and several other pleasure
trips, but the fame of his book actual
| ly brought so many visitors TO his
home that he could not get away.
/ Then he decided that he had lost too
much time and he went 70 work hard
/ on his second story; this story was 10
! have been finished this fall. Meantime,
/ he had become engaged and was 20
! have been married early this fall, aft
| er which event he had planned a wed
| ding journey to Italy.
/ AS a young man. the author was
| cur.Ousiy Indifferent 10 study at one
time and most laborious at books at an
/ other. When he went TO school at
/ Glasgow he neglected his studies for
/ two years, but, In the last year there,
/ he worked hard. and succeeded in win
ming scholarships worth. altogether.
some 81, 200. These funds enabled him
to go to Oxford, where he obtained a
1 degree. He had ideas OF his own as
TO the way in which a man should get
an education and a training for a life
of writing. He once told friend that
reading did not count for much. ITS
what a man learns from life himself
that counts" he said.
When ne went TO London he first
| found employment as a reader for a
publishing house. Later on he did re-
viewing for the Illustrated London
News, sketches for the Spectator and
| general newspaper work. The House
/ With the Green shutters was written
| first as a novelette,. 10000 words long.
/ The publisher to whom ii was first sub
mitted said he would take it if the
author would cut il down 10 a short
story of 1000 or 5000 words. The
young man WAS much angered at the
proposition and. instead Of following
] the publishers suggestion, he length
ened the story to its present proper
| tons
Physically, Mr.. Brown was a giant,
so far as strength of constitution and
vitality were concerned. An American
friend, who dined with him no longer
! than three week ago in London, re-
/ ported him the very picture of health.
Up 10 the present writing no details as
10 the manner of his death have come
10 hand. nor is there any informa ton
10 be had regarding the amount of
work he had done on his second novel.
1t is not likely, however, that he had
written enough OF the story 10 justify
its completion by another writer. so
that 1t is probable that his literary
fame must rest entirely on 1.-The
House With the Green Shutters"
Sir Gilbert Parker has gone to con-
| siderable trouble to deny knowledge of
a supposed original to his hero, Charley
Steele. in The Right Of Way II
seems that some Chicago newspaper
man discovered a Mr.. Cantwele. whose
real experiences corresponded so close
~ to those attributed to the young
Canadian lawyer in Sir Gilbert Parker's
story, that he jumped at the eonclu-
sion that the author must have drawn
his character from real life. The au-
thor, however. writes that he never
knew Cantwele. never saw him and
never heard of him until the newspa-
per story of the identity appeared.
The anxiety of publishers to secure
books by men in the public eye is very
often amusing in its results. A case
In point was noted on the arrival of
the Boer generals in England. Several
publishers were at the pier, the par
ticular desire of each being to secure
the forthcoming story by General De-
wet on the Boer side OF the war in
South Africa. General Dewet, how
ever, was not so anxious to make a
h. he
only successfully repulsed, but also
routed as well. Failing in their at
tempt TO secure the "reminiscences of
DeWet, they fell upon General Delarey,
but he executed a flank movement
and succeeded in making his English
visit without being pursuaded to write
book.
The scramble for public men is prob
ably just as strenuous in this country
The Boer generals are likely TO be met
by delegation of publishers when
they land in New York. In some cases
the anxiety to secure the work of some
great man has been so great that a
publisher has secured a pass on the
customs boat and met the incoming
steamer down the bay. Not long ago
scientist connected with one of the
museums in New York returned from
an exploration trip in the heart of
Mexico. The fact that he had proved
to his own satisfaction that there were
existing tribes of Aztecs living in
Mexico was occasion for the interest
OF several publishers. The scientist
replied, 10 their requests for a book
TO be brought out right away, that II
would take him at least five years 70
complete the work necessary to the
writing of such a book, and the pub
fishers turned away disappointed.
In the days when Kipling was a
bachelor he wrote a line which has
served a SInUan TOr U04nV WIN