The Topeka state journal., 1903-05-30
zee 11rERARY oUELooK.
Records in Writing and Book Selling
Almost a Plagiarist-

That women are occupying a large
part of the literary field today is IN
dfsputable after an examination OF
Francis w. Halsey's Women Authors
of Our Day in Their Homes, a volume
which deals with thirty-seven hVlre
successful writer's of the feminine per-
suasion. Mr. Halsey has done dim
cult task in a praiseworthy manner.
for he has selected the foremost women
writer's and tells good story OF the
home life of each. AS editor OF an m
fuential literary weekly. Mr.. Halsey
had opportunity to make the personal
acquaintance of hundreds of writers
and his judgment in selecting these
thirty-seVen may be relied upon 1t IS
a tribute to American letters that
most of these writer's are native to this
side of the Atlantic.
The announcement of a new book by
Col. Prentiss Ingraham, just published.
is not noteworthy other than it calls at
tention to his continued remarkable
rate of production of stories. Not long
ago the claim was made that Cyrus
Townsend Brady was the fastest Amer
lean author and the claim was baseo
on the fact that. with the aid of =
stenographer to whom he dictated, he
had turned out in the short space OF
seven months 433. 500 words of matter
afterwards published in books and
magazines. 1t turned out that a New
York woman had surpassed this record
with a total of $4,000 words in the
same period of time, and that she had
done this unaided by a stenographer.
Col. Prentiss 1ngraham must lear.
back in his chair and smile when he
sees these various claims for fast
writing. for in a years time he has
turned out over a million and a half
words. That is to say. he has kept up
an average of 5000 words a day and
every one written with a pen. This
colonel has had an eventful life.
As boy he was a sailor in the gulf
of A
but when the Civil war began he Went
into the Confederate army, and remain
ed to the close, going afterward into
the Mexican army against the French.
From there he went to Austria and
/ fought in the great battle of Sadowa on
/ General HOffmann's staff; then as a
/ Pasha he fought in the Island of Crete
/ against the Turks; escap ping, he reached
/ Jerusalem and went overland alone
down the Euphrates river, and across
into India, and UP into China and the
South Pacific islands; thence back to
his native land, where he took part in
the Ten Years Cuban war as fill
buster, one time being captured and
/ sentenced to death by the Spanfards;
next to Egypt. where in the khedive's s
army he fought in Abyssinia. After that
he came home, and took rest by writ
Ing novels. AS some souvenirs of his
+ travels and adventures. the colonel car
ried sabre slash on his hand, a shell
wound among his ribs, and an Indian
American fights, a Turkish bayonet
wound in his leg, and a bullet hole in
his foot. received in Mexico.
Compared to his rapidity in turning
! out fiction, the efforts of Mr. Brady
should require three StenOgrapherS to
come in the same class and the work
( of Andrew Lang. who was said at one
time to be able to write with both
hands while a t the same time operating
a typewriter with his feet, pales into
/ insignifcance. G. A Henty used to be
called prolific because he wrote three or
four books a year and S. r. Crockett
] has engaged considerable fame as an
+ expert in book production. but to the
/ lngraham family the palms must be
! given. Colonel Prentiss Ingraham holds
! the record in number of words-written
and his father, as the author of "A Son
Of the House of David in point of book
/ sales has not bper1 e711r1a sSo1