The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-05
TEN AUTHORS OF RECENT BOOKS THAT ARE POPULAR

happenings, no plot, but the most or
binary incidents of everyday life which
happen to us all, interspersed with
words of wisdom about gardening,
housekeeping homely bits of wisdom,
but of more practical value to the read
er than hight flown sentiments. The
home life of these three. is very beauti-
fully described, as love was abiding
and they all dwelt together in peace
with no thought of 'fn-laws" between
them. One of the best things in the
book is the description of the old Eng
fish servant, Martha Gorkle whom the
"commuter" brought over from England
his homeland the difference in GUS
toms in an American kitchen from
those obtaining in an English one, and
the final readjustment of Martha. The
writer of this pretty story is a real
lover of flowers, one for whom bios
SONS will come forth readily without
undue work and effort and she writes
of her garden with an enthusiasm
which is inspiring and contagious and
almost makes the reader regret
cramped places and long for out of
doors and real country life Among the
many guesSeS as to the identity Of
the writer of 1.-THE Confessions of a
Wife" are several suggesting that the
same hand who wrote them is also
the author of this book just considered.
The story of the commuters wife is
more healthful and natural than the
strained and painful narrative of the
mental agony of Marina in her ruby
wrapper. Both have appeared anony-
mously.
Denies the Impeachment.
1t now appears that the. woman who
was always supposed to be the writer
of those most delightful books, "Mar-
tyrdom of an Empress" and "Tribula-
tons of Princess" whose pen name
is MarquiSe de Fontenoy, denies that
she is the author of them and makes
the statement with some indignation.
The latest book, "a Dotted Coronet,"
by the same writer and supposed to
be the marQuise, is said to betray some
secrets relating to the British occupa-
ton of Egypt and it is the sensation
caused by these revelations which
caused her to deny the authorship It
is to be feared that she will have
difficulty in convincing the public that
she has not written the books in ques-
ton. For years she has been writing
letters for New York and Chicago pa
pers commenting upon current events
in Europe, and especially among the
royal families, showing a wonderful
intimacy with court matters. Her first
book, Within Royal Palaces" written
years ago and to which she affixed her
pen name, is full of the gossip of courts
and could only have been written by
one who not only knew thoroughly
what she was talking about, but had
actually been an inmate of the palaces
in question. Her book, "Tribulations
Of a Princess" was without doubt her
personal experiences at the Austrian
court and her flight and marriage to
a IN oil cI n wit Iryh( eI,o
to New York. And the last book,
which has caused her denial, was sup
posed to be the continuation of her
life and struggles as an American
newspaper writer. Now she comes for
ward with a denial of the books, but
it is feared her statements will not
find credence. At all events the books
were written by some one with a most
remarkable knowledge of foreign af-
fairs and court secrets.
Praise From an Authority.
Edith Wharton, whose book, 1.-THE
Valley Of Decision" is considered by
some critics to show a wonderful in
sight into Italian conditions of a CEN
fury ago, has recently said of E. Fl.
and e. w. Blashfields' book, italian
Cities" that it is 'the most interesting
work OF Italian impressions that has
appeared in English since Symond's
volumes. Perhaps the most remark
able quality of the work is the skill
with which various tastes are taken
into account, and the claims of erudi-
ton and emotion, of historic exactness
and poetic fancy are fused into hon.
ogeneous sensation of Italy"
Helen KeIler's Book.
Miss Helen Keller, the remarkable
girl who is blind and deaf and yet
is smarter and more able than many
with their full complement of senses,
has completed her autobiography and
1t will be published by Doubleday, Page
& Co. early in February, under the
title of "The Story of My Life In
this book Miss Keller tells her strange
story which seems Incredible to those
of us who have difficulty in recording
our impressions interestingly even
without the terrible handicap from
which this brave girl suffers. The vol
| ume cannot fail to make good reading