The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-08-20
PICTURE OF MARIE coRELLL
Novelist Reluctant to Change Her
Views, However.
London Cable Dispatch in New York



London Cable Dispatch in New York
American.
The long drawn out fight which Miss
Marie Corelli has been making TO pro-
tect her personal modesty and at the
same time not interfere with the pub
lieity of her fiction has taken new
turn with the publication Of her latest
book, The Treasures of Heaven which
has just been given to the book sellers.
At last she has eondescended. at the
special request of the publishers, Arehi-
bald Constable & Co. to allow a real
photograph of herself to go before the
public. It appears as the frontispieee Of
the new book, which is her sixteenth.
Even more surprising, as a bit Of
vanity. is the authors note which goes
with the frontispiece IN the English edt-
ton of THE Treasures of Heaven" She
declares that portrait of herself was
taken in the spring of this year. ana she
explains her feeling about IT,
Il am somewhat reluctant she writes
ito Sc it so placed, because it has MOTH
ing whatever to do with the story which
is told In the following pages, beyond
being a faithful likeness of the author
who is responsible for this any many
other previous books which have hau
the good fortune to meet with a frlenuly
reception from the reading public. more
over l am not quite able to convince
myself that my pictured personality can
have any interest for my readers, as II
has always seemed to me that an au-
thor's real being is more dlscioseu IN illS
or her work than in any portrayed pre-
nh
"But owing to the fact that various
gross. and 1 think l may say hbelous'
fictitious Misrepresentation of me nave
heen freely and unwarrantedly creu-
lated throughout Great Britain, the
eoloniee and America by certain lower
sections of the pictorial press, whlcn,
with a zeal worthy of a better anu
kinder cause have striven by thls means
to ALLEVIATE my readers from me It ~
pears to my publishers advisanie INA
an authentic likeness or myself 90
truly am today, should now nc is9u -
In order to prevent any further ms
leading of the public by fraudulent IN
ventions" -, am
rhen Miss Corelli tells how she con-
eeaIed her identity from the London pho-
toeraphers for whom she posed py us.ns
tbe name of a. lady friend" and having
the various proofs sent to her address.
"rhat thus elected to be photographer
&C an unknown rather than known per
soon" Miss Corelh explains turtner' was
in order that no extra pains should DC
taken in my behalf, but that shoulo
he treated lust as an ordinary strahsel
wound be treated, with no less but at the
same time certainly no more care.
For the benefit Of those VINO may lee \,
INV further curiosity on the supJect,
Mis- CorelH writes that no portraits IN
any wav resembling her have been pup.
lished anywhere, with the exception Vi
nicture taken in her own mousse by d"
amateur photographer.
T,bie remarkable mote" ends thus
NV objection to this sort OF 'plcture
nonu1aritv' has already been puphcly
stated and | here repeat and emphaslze
n And I venture to ask my readers
who have so generously encouraged me
h,y their warm and constant appfecia
ton Of nv literary efforts to try ana
understand the spirit in which the oo-
tection is made. 1t is simply tnat 10
,,,vself the personal Self of me is noth-
inc and should be, rightly speaking,
nothing to any one outside the circle Oh
nv home and my intimate friends WINE
nv work and the keen desire to improve
IN that work. so that by work alone
NAV become united in sympathy ana
love to my readers, whoever and wner-
ever they may be- constitutes ior nne
the Everything of life