The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-10-06
NAUGHTY NOVE[|STS REFORMING RAPIDLY Wonderful Change in Work of English Writers kIPLING BACK HOME Story of How Tennyson Referred to Critics as "Lice in the
 Locks of Genius" Is Be-
 ing Repeated
kIPLING BACK HOME
Nv HAYDEN CHURCH.

London Oct l. -- (Special) - All the literary censors soon will be put out of business if the wave of righteous ness that seems to be sweeping over the nove1-reading world engulfs many more of the so-called daring novel; ists. You may expect to hear any day now that victoria Cross" the caloric author of Five Nights" and "Life's g Shop Window" has published a book for the bairns' and that "A Peer, whose identity has not yet been dis closed though several people are under suspicion, and who now revels in de- seriptions of naughty eountry-houses. is engaged on a religious novel--for the torridest of the torrid among fiction writers seem suddenly to have got good almost simultaneously
 Everybody must have noticed the surprising conversion of Mrs. Elinor Glyn, who. in her last two books, Is quite different person from the author of Three Weeks" His Hour" and "The Visits of Elizabeth" and who is said to have almost doubled her sales as result while an equally gratify- ing case, in the eyes of moralists is that of Hubert Wales whose last book, 'The Spinster" Is 8 tract compared with MT and Mrs. villiers" and the event ually suppressed woke"
 And now I hear from Italy that Ga briele d'Annunzio who is in Arcachon at present is writing a novel espec- ial1y for the "jeune fille,' Wonders will never cease and Anthony Com e.ta 1.tl, n 1 AnnnnZiO'S \ "Tri- umph of Death" so vigorously will read this paragraph twice, should it come lis way, to make sure that his eyes have not deceived him the first time. We all will order d'Annunzio's new novel when it comes out and hope, meanwhile. that it will not prove as saddening a disappointment as M. Ca tulie Mendes collection of short stor- les which he called ITO be Read in Con vents" (Pour Lire Au Convent, and which proved if anything just trihe more risque than anything the genial catulle previously had offered his in- dulgent public.
 Reminded of Andrew Lang
 Andrew Langs admirers have been reminded of him twice in the past week first by the announcement that the late author and journalist left an estate worth s62.500 and again by the publi- cation of his revised theory as to the solution of Dickens Mystery of Ed win Drood."
 Apropos of these matters I was dis cussing Lang the other day with q member of the editorial staff of the Dundee Advertiser who was an in innate friend of the Scotch essayist.
 Andrew always liked Americans" he said, and here is story of super lative cheek on the part of one of your country women which he used to tell with great gnsto. This American girl wrote to Lang and informed him that she had been told off to write for her literary society an essay on himself and his works. Of these she frankly confessed what Lang described as a very pardonable ignorance.' and re- quested him to save her trouble by writing short autobiography. Tt must be awfully funny she said, with funny verses By way of remunera- ton she enclosed money order for fifty cents.'
 Perhaps the young lady was hu- morist and was just getting at the il1ustrious author. Anyhow his friend says Lang vouched for the story which