The Washington herald., 1918-10-20
A Romance of Modern Business
Women.

MRS. Beatrice Barnoy, new au-
thor, whose novel, Betty Marchand,"
Is announced among the fall publica-
tions of George H. Doran Company
writes in part out of her own expert
ence. The story deals with the busi-
ness career of an English girl who
finally comes to New York. Mrs.
Barmhv herself was brought up un-
der the old tradition that school
teaching was the only genteel occu-
patton for an impeCunious gentlewo-
man. At the age Of II, however, iured
by the romance Of business, she. like
her heroine, broke away from the fu-
ture planned for her. OF her subse-
quent experience Mrs. Barmby writes:
Always in the back kground of am
bition and hard work was the long
ing for unknown places and new eX-
periencos. In short vacations be-
took myself to Paris. Brussels. Bru
ges, Normandy. Brittany. each trip
WhettinE my appetite for further
travel. and finally causing me to
ignore prudence lin the shape OF
good pOsition) and sign on as stenoG-
rapher on an Atlantic liner. Thus I
had my first glimpse of New York
.City'-an incident which she utilizes
to good effect in the book.
Mrs. Barmby's heroine further
followed in her creators footsteps
in attaining a position Of respon-
sibility in salesmanship in London
"a position which the author con-
tinued to hold for some time after
her marriage. She then became
her husbands right hand man in
the management Of his New York
business. She continues:
"A home and office proving to
be too many irons in the fire and
the former being more of a nov
city than the latter, l decided to
retire from business life and be-
come a lady of leisure. | enjoyed
it immensely-for about six months
Then l began to wonder how any
woman could fill her day with no
other definite occupation than the
management of an apartment
wanted something TO do which
would show more lasting results
than afternoon teas and bridge par
ties"
This search for ar occupation
resulted in the writing Of Betty
Marchand," which appeared in
abridged form in the Delineat tor
last year.
. l. aflB hting.Je ,.ahufig
How Many Murderers Do You Know.
II. B. Irving, in the introduction to
his "A Book of Remarkable Grim
inals" (Doran), recalls the remark of
Lord Tennyson, that one of the nights
on which he sat up latest had been
spent in conversation with Jowett
Asked what was the theme of the
talk, he replied laconically; Muir
ders." In face of so illustrious an ex-
ample. it is not surprising that a large
and by no means intellectually con-
temptible number of people feel it a
certain hardship that the war has de-
prived them Of the old full newspaper
treatment of murder cases When a
crime does occasionally find its way
10 the front page nowadays, it is dis
missed with summary treatment in
stead of prolonged and detailed atten-
tiOn.
AS MI Irving points out, interest in
CRIME Is not simply the adult form of
Childhood's addiction to the penny
dreadful" To understand the motives
underlying crime is to strike very
deep into the roots of human nature
Moreover, the psychology of the GRIM
maj is not necessarily abnormal, save
IN degree Murder is much more
common than is ordinarily supposed.
tor only the unsuccessful murderers
are caught. Years ago the novelist.
James Pawn, reckoned that one person
III every 500 is an undiscovered muir
derer' which makes it possible for any.
man OF broad acquaintance TO count
couple among those To whom he
speaks. When Mr.. Irving and a
friend were once discussing the sub
Ject IN London club. they were able
10 name SIX persons who were, or had
oeen suspected of being. successful