The Minneapolis journal., 1902-08-01
Books and Authors

The New York Tribune's London correspon-
dent says: Various accounts are given of the
SUCCESS Of the new American fiction in Eng
land Heinemann, who has displayed excep-
tional energy in introducing American novels
Of marked originality, complains that the
English public does not appreciate them.
The, truth is that novels sacrid in tone and OF
hard realism fail to make marked impress
sion here, whether written by Americans or
Englishmen. The American historical ro-
mances have larger public here. Winston
Churchills novels have a steady sale Mrs
Gertrude Atherton's 'The Conqueror, Is
going we'll, IN spite Of the complaint. Of the
critics that it contains too much biography.
and Charles Majors Dorothy Vernon OF
Haddon Hall" is already In brisk demand at
the circulating libraries. -5
Tho American Book company has published
a very excellent book on China by r. Van
Bergen, entitled "The Story of China. = The
| author has lived long in. THE Middle King
dom,' and gives the results of his personal
observations there. The book is illustrated.
The author notes that the Chinese do not
call their country China and do not under
stand a foreigner when he. so calls IT. They
| call it 1.-The Middle Kingdom" tChung-
Kwoh); ''The Middle Flowery Kingdom
| (Chung Hwa Kwoh), and The Eighteen
Provinces (shih- -pah-seng). Price 80 cents.
Columbia university's department of COM
! parative literature will establish a new Pc
| riodical called journal Of Comparative
! Literature, The expenses for the first year
have been guaranteed by friends OF Column
bia and eminent European scholars have
promised. their corporation. The first num-
/ Der will appear2nexts December. %z-s
Mrs Ella Peattle, discussing inchoate gen
ius in the Chicago Tribune. says of the latest
/ deyelopment:% %' Miss MacLane. out in Butte
4 has taken only the first step OF the genius
4 She has emphasized the first person singular
and she looms up out Of her barren land, gro
/ tesoue, pathetie and impressive. She saffects
| the imagination tremendously-like the BAD
| Lands of the Dakotas or the Painted Deser
of Arizona. But. dear, shocked friends. thu
girl thinks. = She has cerebration. OF course
there must be other people in Montana think
ing, but who are they? They have no
thought In such original manner as to perani
US the felicity Of knowing their names. Asi
anw one to-day who dn Montana is writing
land the answer must re Mary MacLane o
z Butte. Let ms give this much comfort to tn
! child, who is dismayeds by her own perform
ance, horribly hurt by the criticism, and de
7 tcidedly puzzled to know what to do with her
SELF, .aE - ~ - -.
The Boston Herald says with much force
} Twelve novels are recorded as having beel
made Into plays during the late theatrfca
seasons We presume most of them were II
some degree successful; we know that two o.
three Of them were very popular. II we ar
asked, why. then. did they succeed? ? the re
{ ply is that they succeeded because the noVel
4 from which they were constructed had sue
4 ceeded, or at least succeeded sufficiently t
! attract the not too critical reader, and t
i make hinl--or. more probably her-curious ts
4 see how its characters would appear in stag
representation. But this is bad for genuin
i dramatic art in the playwright and II is hay
j Ing q reaction that as not tayorabale to itera