The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-01-01
.LovE LETTERS OF A LIAR.
Mrs. Allen Now Engaged on "Love
Letters 10 a Liar"


Letters 10 a Liar"
Love Letters of Liar" is. clever
book that has been as widely sold in
Savannah as it has been in other parts
! of the country, but probably few who
have read it know that it's author,
Mrs. William Allen, is a Savannahian
and that she is now visiting the home
| of her earlier life.
Those who have read the book will
be interested also to know something
of its history, for Mrs. Allen says,
it was not written in the form that
it afterward took in its first publica-
! ton as a serial and it's later form as
a book. II was yachting" said Mrs.
Allen in speaking of the book yes
terday, when the publishers request
for serial of this sort reached me.
l had at the time work of about 49,
900 words which l had named Why
and it was from this that L selected
! the letters that form the contents of
The Love Letters of a Liar 1 sold
the work outright, but after 1t was
. published in book form my publishers
have given me a 10 per cent royalty
on all copies sold.
The book was published last April,
Mrs Allen said, and up to last Sep
TENDER $4,000 copies of it had been
sold. THE sale is still very good" she
, coptinued, for short time ago I asked
Brentano about it, and he said he sold
| four or five copies a day"
Mrs. Allen is now at work on Love
Letters to the Liar" a sort of sequel
or companion book to her earlier and
most successful book. She is also en-
gagged on another work, which will be,
she says, the most ambitious she has
undertaken so far, and which she hopes
to make her masterpiece.
The present title of this work is
"The Volatile Mrs. McVicker," though
it may be changed before the book is
issued. The scene of the story is laid
in South America which offers excep-
tional opportunities for color. This
t Mrs. Allen is Well qualified to use as
| she has travelled extensively all over
| the continent. The book has already
been practically finished twice and
twice rewritten and still it's author is
not quite ready to let it be published,
although she has three offers for it,
and may keep 1t in manuscript for a
year or two yet.
The present visit is the first that
Mrs. Allen has paid to Savannah in
fourteen years. ut has improved vast
the progress it has made, but / should
have liked it better if it had still kept
its old and sleepy colonial air.
Mrs. Allen also spoke interestingly of
her brother, Capt. r. Fl. Anderson.
whose death in the Philippines and
whose recent burial in Bonaventure
were the cause of her present visit 20
Savannah. Capt. Anderson. she said,
with one exception had been longer in
the Philippines than any other officer
in the army He was anxious to come
home, but did not want to ask for
leave. In letter that he wrote his sis
7. ter in July, he said use your in
| f1uence to get me home, for I'm so anx.
| ious to see you all again. l will not
ask for sick leave for there are too
| many dead beats in the army and the
regiment now. I'm going to stick it out
as long as life is in me-"
Mrs. Allen saw Secretary Root and
he promised that Capt Anderson
should come home by Christmas. He
came, said Mrs. Allen. but he came a
corpse.
Mrs. Allen will leave for her home in
New York Friday. She regrets to
leave Savannah, she says, for she has
never appreciated before how beauti-
| full the city is.