The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-11-21
BOOK NOTES.

1t is many years since Kate douglas
Wiggin found her first rapturods circle
to st. Nicholas. A generation now grown
up still knows the original ''Half-a-Doz-
en- HousekeeperS" well enough to trace
from memory every change of growth
the story has undergone to make its
production in book form possible. Eska-
luna'S Pearls, the Winter Picnic Dung
Lochinvar and all the other familiar in
cidents and escapades of the jolly six
are retained and some new ones added
1t was always a capital story, an ami
mated record of girlish fun and froltc,
simple, natural and attra ctive, and it
is even better now than at its first ap-
pearance. Mrs. Virgins work is al
ways bright and sincere, "Half-a-Dozen
Housekeepers" is a genuine book, well
come relief from the froth so generally
offered to the modern girl by the mod
ern fiction writer. The book is fresh
from the press of the Henry Altemus
company of Philadelphia.
The publishers of Joseph Conrad's
book of weird love stories. ''F'alk,' have
been obliged to supplement- their first
large edition of this book by second
which is now in the press.
r. e. Young, the author of Sally of
Missouri" published by Mcclure q
Phillips, has had a wide experience IN
many and varied editorial sanetums.
Texas daily. a writer of special dis
patches on a Missouri sheet, a literary
editor on a medical ma gazine, owner
and editor Of a New York medical mag
azine, and finally a special editor and
reader for a large text book house. The
other day. when asked casually what
she had been doing, she said, Last
week 1 edited Greek history. this week
1 will edit a physiology, next week
spelling book and an algebra are laid
out for me-"
Seumas McManus, the author of "A
Lad o. the O'Friefs," and many clever
stories of Irish Folklore, is making
short visit to America. Mr.; McMan ats
is one of the Young Ireland party, the
aim of which is to keep alive the ma
tional spirit of the country. Mr.. NC
Manus is pretty closely watched by the
British police. but he says that There
is no truth in any rumor that was
forced to leave Ireland because of an
noyance by the British police. Their
petty Irritating methods could not drive
me away"
A new book of fairy lore is The
Enchanted Island of YeW, by Il:
Frank Baum. author of Wizard OF
o." and recently published by the
Bobbs-N Merrill company. The story IS
of the delightful adventures OF three
/ little maids and the fairy. Prince Mar
vel on the enchanted island. The IS
| land. by the way, was like mince pie,
and it was divided into four quarters.
also like mince pie, except that there
was a big place in the center where
the fifth kingdom called Spor lay In the
midst of the mountains. In this king
dom giants were said to live, also rowing
bands of robbers and a magician
named Kwytoffle, who had the I'M
plea SAINT habit of changing people into
| grasshoppers and June bugs. The eX-
ploratiens of Prince Marvel, however.
proved that these were really harmless
ana very companionable people. The
many Illustrations by Fanny Y. Cory
are printed in color. twelve of them
being full page pictures, surrounded
bv borders of flowers. Thetype pages
and on practically every page there is
an illustration in tint printed under
the type.
The December number of The Red
Book is out with renewed evidence OF
hind it. It's holiday number is gem
from its Christmas eve cover to the
last page. A pictorial supplement-,
THE Dying Year; eight portraits OF
beautiful Washington society leaders.
and eight OF Parisians; and 100 pages
of cleve stories by the best writer's.
amply illustrate all attractively pre-
scented in the best style of the printer $
art, make the first holiday number of
the young magazine a marked individ-
ual among the multitude of periodicals.
Algernon Boyesen. Eliza beth Phipps
Train, Clinton Dangerfeld Mary
Stuart Boyd, Rex E. Beach and Lucia
| Chamberlain are among the contrib
utors to the number. The Red Book
claims to have broken ell records in
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