LITERARY NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 18, 22 January 1938, Page 24

LITERARY NOTES

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Holland has been celebrating the 350th anniversary •of the birth of Joost'van den Vondel, "the < Dutch national poet." . Could there be a better -test •of insularity than to ask a man to name the" "national poets" of half-a-dozen '■ other ■ countries. . .

Mrs. Zangwill, speaking of the work of her husband, Israel, Zangwill, recently, said-that an omnibus edition of some of his short stories was to be issued in the United States next year. She did not appear to1; think that England would follow the American example. It^is some1' :-years'now since Zangwill died.

Among books to be auctioned at Sotheby's in London at the beginning of last month was a selection from the library of cthe- late C.' H. -Shannon, R.A., including a copy of Oscar Wilde's poem "The Sphinx," 1894, accompanied by two letters from Wilde to Charles -Ricketts, 'R.A., 'the • illustrator of the book, who presented it to his almost lifelong friend and colleague, Shannon. A series of the publications of the famous Vale Press, conducted by the two artists jointly, was also included.

What, a London columnist asks, is to be done about Mr. H. G. Wells? About ■a! yearv- agp'"*a gathering representative of the World's literature met to ' celebrate - >his ■ seventieth birthday. "Poor? Old? Wells," ;said^ Mr. Bernard Shaw in the speech proposing the guest'sl 'health; "on.; his way to his eightieth birthday." He: may, of course, be progressing in'that, direction, but it looks-much more as though he ' were exceeding'the • speed limit in the ' opposite-direction. For since the date of that farewell to middle age Mr. Wells -has ■" published at least three books, all brimmingly alive arid; one of which .the faults are due to unbridled youth. "'' ;'' i-':. ■ —■■■•■ ■'■ '-■■.■

Despite its-regrettable association with "Grub Street" the English world of literature offers large prizes to successful authors (says the "Australasian"). 'The estate of Sir James Barrie, for instance, which was one of the largest fortunes ever left by a British author, amounted to £173,467, being exceeded in amount Only by Hall Caine's £250,000. And take these sums left by some" of Barrie's contemporaries: Rudyard Kipling, £155,000; Stanley Weyman, ' £100,000; Thomas Hardy, £91.000; John Galsworthy, £88,000; Gebrge Moore, £75.000; Conan Doyle, £63,000; Arnold Bennett; £40,000; G. K. Chesterton, £28,000; and Joseph Conrad, £20,000.

A writer in "John o' London's Weekly" asks: Do you know where

"Fougasse," the artist, got his name from? A fougasse is a small land mine, the first mention of which, according to the Oxford Dictionary, appeared in 1832 in Southey's "History of the Peninsular War." The mine might go off and hit the mark-or it might not, and .therefore the name, so "Fougasse" 'says,I.',was a '.suitable one for so chancy •a- trade -as 'an-..artist's "Fougasse's real-name 'is .:Kenneth1 Bird. At the Dardanelles a shell injured his spine and he was invalided home.,- As he lay in bed he started to write/ but found it easier to draw/and sent somehumorous ■ war . sketches:.to '-the papers. He signed ,them "Fougasse."

When she was a girl Miss Marguerite Steen, whose new novel "Who Would Have Daughters?" recently appeared, wanted to go on the stage. First of all, however, she became e schoolmistress. When she had saved £20 she threw up her job and came to London in search of stage work, She failed to find an opening, and went up to Yorkshire ■to teach dancing. She was making about:£Boo a year when she received an offer of £3 a week to go on tour with Fred. Terry and Julia Neilson. She accepted and stayed with them for three years. William J. Locke., encouraged -her to write. He read her first novel,, written, at the age of 15,;. and, she says, "earned the gratitude of publishers and public alike by gently,' but firmly, suggesting its suppression. But he considered I had the writing maggot in.me and would produce *■ something sooner or later."