The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-10-05
LOCKE ON The HUMAN NOVEL
4 NAN. q HOHtN AM 4 POS-
SIBLE HtRF ITS CONPON EMS.
That. He says. o tbe stsg, That Nlsne q
tntsrestlag No,els Make Coed Paa,s
When the Itl~a O. dramatic. ana Not
otherwlse Adsnlrer sf %. Aenry

| and playwright. ~ making second visit
20 New York. and tins time he 10 not COINS
/ 70 stop here In a few days he expects "a
leave for q general tour OF the United
states. which will include a stay ~ sew
! sral weeks IN southern California
There - no play % his that draws the
author dramatist over here just now
nor 10 his visit connected with the publ
| cation oG "a new hook lie says he has
! just come over To play Tor while, leaving
a half finished book on III" other side.
which hs will complete when he gets
hack He also discln ms that he is On n
still or active hunt Tor types, though lie
admits that II he happens upon a full
grown one thar appeals =" him hs NAV
CAPTURE him aud tell us NOR" about him
later
Mr. Locke has the same rooms On the
twelfth foor % the Iropuois that he had
/ two wears ago. and he ~ald he lked always
to get hack 10 the same place lie u az
long and lanky 10 ever aud just - laconic
cheerfully answering questions buI
volunteering little In conversation Mr
Locke IL Teticsnt and very Tosles' about
himself Some of the plays made out OF
Mr. I.ocke'z novels have been big sue
cesses as such Others have not been so
fortunate. in spite % the great popularity
Of the books from witch they were drawn
As delicately n possi bile the impertinrnt
question was put 20 hun Why
The author tied his legs into some
thing resembling a bowkno'. hIt other
wise took the question unp~r'irbed
IL you've got a good dramatic story
in a novel there - no reason why the
latter shouldn't be- successful as play
he returned If YOU haven't. then Won
don't get . good play.
What I feal about making drama
1 INTO a novel - this In n novel Quo has
J u certain skeleton which one hides FROM
/ the public view. not the Skeleton IN ~"
closet exactly bat a skeleton which he
covers over WIth flesh aud all the sIac"-
and charm that he eau Very often tho
mere articulation 81 tho skeleton ~ M"
novel il not the element with wtich tho
writer wants To- make his appeal. Sow.
4 IN Cunv erting a novel into a play mo has
simply got 10 make the Skeleton TrpTi.
n~n' and as there are only two or three
hours IN which 10 do the whole story enc
has got to sacrifice a host of things for
which he really wrote the novel That
: IL the great difficulty IN dramati<ing
novel The Morals of Marcus Was sue
cs~sful a. a play for the ampl" reason
that the story. The Morals ~ Marcp1
Ordeyne lent itself 20 dramatic use
No I am not doing any work now
Tha, - to cav | am not working while
over here Twas half way 'hrouRh a booS
when | left England which ! suppose
shall finish up in tn" spring " hadn't
decided TO take thus holiday | should he
finishing u now
DO I think 'he public taste IN fiction
Is changlnR' Not AZ ali II ~ the
same A. ever But there are many path
lies After all there IL only one story IN
the world a man. woman. and Do.-
u b!e haby II " the human story that
alone ~ interesting
Nr IoCksS characters USUALLY roan
about Europe a httl. Usfor" the plot IN
which they are involved works out and
he was asked whether At Mas elsIrr TO
write a story about pertpaie;Ic h@roe-
and herOps ses 90 "a sol them ~ on" place
and write the story around then
IL taxes a much greater man 20 maSe
an appeal with purely ocdl story
r.pli.si Mr. Isocko mOteUlv a man
IKE Thomas Hardy could ua6" great
appe1i with q NesseN story 4 small
man cannot sNpsct Ia nave the sam.
weight of apyeal. though ~ "oiIr-e
story that - well written naturally ap
culfiva' I'd clas-~s bIt | am taiktHg NJ
a ~, Ger APPEAL
Is Il not a fact that Won haze now
vi,ier public IA the United state. than -
I'm Sllnd' -. ,..,-.., 49, $3.50.
country and there may ne sonnet Ing m
the fact that the Americans are a ration
~ book buyers and not nation OF book
borrower. ~ We are IN England Here,
II anyhody wants Co read a book. he GoeS
and buys II. while ~ England ne waits
h- time until half DOZEN Other peTsons
have finished reading the copy belonging
to- the CIRCULATING library
DO yoU find that m England the mum
Ter ~ writers II growing fastP
Mr Locke united hIs leg- and putting
M head IN hIs hands thought for mo-
rlsnt
I don; think SO he answered finally
A far az | can Judge thee are no qiIt"
vouag men who are going into writing
BOOKS But that - only my personal
knoW'edgr | think YOU best - on tho
short story. he continued One reason
- that there u much greater encourage
mon, over here for tho short story writer
owing to the number and the importance
Of vo,Ir weekly and monthly ma game.
And hv th.. way, | was ErieVed To hear
Of the Seath ~ - Henry. for whose work
I had q tremendous liking. though | did
no, snow hin personally
oh YES I have wri ten two plays that
were not adapted from books. -aId Mr.
Locke IN answer tn a question. One was
The Palace 81 Puck. which wa- ttrn~d
into a musical comedy and had a degre.
81 success. and the other The Man
From the Sea IL " much easier To con
atrtict q play when you don have o.
maze II out 81 = hook.
Mr. Locke would not make any com
parisons between English and American
noyeiIRts I always COME with whole
hearted enjoyment To a good American
novel lust az ! do 20 good English
novel, he said a man like John Fox
I admire tremendously. and Thomas
Nelson Pages Marse Chan ~. If course
a masterpiece No. ] never attempt to
write q problem novel because there
are other people who do IL 80 much better
than / DO | think a problem novel
accomplishes anything, We'll. Ia nv
opinion the setting forth Of Any set ~
human circumstances ~ in itself an
achievement A. for the novel with
purpose. n only achieves its purpose IN
the hand- of a great geni'I". and then only
incidentally Wv taste runs principally
to dalineating character.
4 am very Ata gnant IN regard Ia literary
news IN England Mr. Locke said For
= whole ycnr ! nave been living pretty
much out ~ touch with things in London |