The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1921-10-27
Main STREET TO
HAVE SUCCESSOR
SINCLAIR LEWIS EXPECTS To
PRODUCE NEW WORK OF
FICTION WITHIN YEAR
TO COMPLETE NOVEL In ITALY
MINNEAPOLIS JOURNAL MANS
INTERVIEW WITH FAMOUS
AUTHOR INTERESTING


(Carlton Miles, Minneapolis Journal)
London, Oct. 15.-"Main Street" is
to have successor.
1t will be a novel, American in
theme, with a man as the central fig
ufe.
The new book will not be published
for year. 1t will be as long as
Main Street"
Wandering over the sunlit downs of
Kent, up the road the Canterbury Pill
grims trudged centuries ago, through
hawthorn bordered lanes past black
beamed Tudor houses, past the straw
piles,each with it's neat matched roof
as protection from the rain. Sinclair
Lewis outlined his plans for, the new
novel he is now writing.
mo more short stories," said the
Minnesota author. ga book with an
American as the principal character.
No touch of Gopher Prairie in it. /
already have written 10000 words
and l shall complete it this winter in
Italy. In the spring shall go back
to the United States with the manus-
cript and it will be published a year
different vein from Main Street,"
A British Gopher Prairie
An hours ride from London, the
Sinclair Lewises have found a. British
Gopher Prairie. The train carries
you through rolling land that resepl-
bles the agricultural slopes of Mime
sofa. 1t lands you at the little villag-
es of Bearsted, or Bearsted and
Thurman as the ticket reads. At the
right, as you. alight, is Bearsted, at
the left, separated only by the stone
wall over which run the rail tracks,
is Thurnham-tiny villages each with
its row of houses, its pub, a stone
church and store or two. Thou
sands of miles away you fancy your
self from Picadilly circus which
roars all day and most of the night
with it's clogged mass of motorbuses,
taxicabs, delivery wagons and hurry
ing pedestrians, while the aged wom-
an at the foot of the memorial foun-1
tain whine to you to buy penn'orth
of violets or a fading rose.
Across the grassy common you
walk, deserted save for few child
rem, some waddling geese that resent
your approach, and a gentle goat. At
one end is the village tavern, down
the street row of houses, each with
! its bit of green in front, and at the
ether end is the Bell House, where
the Lewises live in the surroundings
for which Carol Kennicott longed but
which she would not have appreciate
ed. An old house of the 18th CEN
fury with low rooms, heavy beams,
huge fireplaces and the unwonted
convenience of a. bathtub. Expert
ence in Britain with its fine old dis
dain of modern tubs teaches you what
folly it is to lave oneself daily.
No Shop Talk
81 hear Main Street has gone
100000 copies in the United States
A wave of hand. '.No shop talk,
please. See the rose garden"
A patch of ground where roses are
blomming in late September. A ten
mis- court. A vegetable garden, a
stone wall, an old house where the
hops are stored much in the manner
of our silo. Fine old furniture in the
long living room with it's beamed
ceiling. A fireplace so large that a
great log would stretch but half
across it.
"You haven't seen the church"
A walk through shaded lane to
hill on which stands Bearsted church,
portions of which were built in the
18th century. A view from the
ehurchyard of a placid green spot
where once was famous battle be-
tween the Saxons and the Danes. An
old stone church with high square
tower, a niche in the little hall for
holy water it was Roman Catho-
lie church before the days Of Henry
VIII's proclamation little carpeted
aisle, chancel in the floor of which
are sunk stones with curious inscrip-
tiens where the townspeople were
buried centuries before. More stones
in the wall marking the graves of me-
dieval villagers. Memorial windows
in colors less striking than those of
modern churches. The yard sur
rounding the church is covered with
gravestones.
Nothing Sensational to Say
An air of peace disturbed only by
the wears children who come whoop-
ing across tIie,lane to play with young
Wells Lewis, the four year cd son.
8 4 l. a L.