LITERARY NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), 30 September 1893, Page 1

LITERARY NOTES.

■"• f ■"• *** *.* *: fT "-TTf • f>Bo_C OUK O -T N COEBESPONDIIfr.J', London, August !• The story booming in the StaTtes ]Uftnpw is Mra _Cat«. Wiggiri* • A Timothy's Qn<#," of which the publishers allege they hftve ioid no fewep than _>0,0t!0. ' (Jay 'and Ifird issue the evening ejlition. Marie Coyelli tellia me "N^hemiah Hopkins" ia only a short story for the magazines/ Her x.ew novel, t^ be .published next Ndvember £y IJesarp. Bentley, though finished^ h»s yet to he chrie tenaq. In "Homespun," Annie *S. Swaujias a -temped to write a story of the * _ "Window in Thrums *' class and failed lgmentabliy. All Barrio's imitators in this" djLceetvpn have failed} so far, -jmd there" are a gs)d many of tbem in Scotland. Mrs Besant's reminiscences, now appearing ih the *6 'un, continue 'extremely interesting, but should be takpn cu.>i grano salt's. I know come of the lady's xolati ves, who teU me they hardly recogni^Jiome of the incidents, they are sp highly coloured. "The Bishop's Wife; A Sketch," by - Dayrell Trelawney, published in one volume by Bentley, is the sole wwk of fiction which I can djscoyerlias been issued during the present week. August is Che dead month of the twelve in Patemoaker Row. Longmans annonnce the following Editions to their now extensive Sii verXlbrary (3s 6'd" each), viz., Haggard^ ** Erld Brlgfct•yes,'* George Milnero "Country measure's,'' Proctor's " Myths' and Marvels of Astronomy,'' and "Custom and MjriJi/' by Andrew Lt^n^. . The memoir of the Duke of Clarence, which Mr J. E, Vincent haj compiled with Canon Dalton'e assistance, will 'be published by Mr John Murray. The sketch of the Duke of York in the Pall Mali Gazette, by "One Whp BJiowa , Hjtat $$," was also Canon Daitoii. a. " Mrs Del. net has cdmpleteed a new novel, entitled, "Philip and Hia Wife." Miss Braddon writes a novelists, entitled* •fThe Chpstaas Hirelings,'- Jor ,-fche Ladies' Pictorial,- and ' C. E. Craddbo-Ci commences "His Vanished Star*' inthe ourrent Atlantic Monthly. " :"''■'■■ For the next two months the publishing trade will be utterly stagnant, _a_fe M'tegarda occasional "new ahd cheaper editions," and, possibly, a few "shillmg shockers." 1 notice on the &>okS talls'ohe of the latter, by Mrs Hungerford (othj. rwiße "The Duchess"), called *'' AP Mad Prank," but have hot read it yet. "Link upon Link" is the title of pick Donovan's (Mr J. E. Jluddock's) volume' of detective storieß. The method of manufacturing these glibly Written yarns experts can see must be simplicity itself. Mr Muddock merely takes a cause cfl^ra t from tbe newspapers or the Newgate calendar, and allows his imagination "to play around it. In my rather too wholesale condemnation the other week of the stalocess aSid dulness of the reed detective's'detective atonies, I forgot that remarkable American work, " Irupector <3eorge WaUuig*e Eecpl- «■ lections" (Caxton Publishing Company, New Tork, 1837), and aIBO dida c^rt^in amount of injustice to ex-laspdotor Littlechild'a yprhii now running through Cassell's Saturday Journal. The lattor are, however, written up much as Julian Hawthorne's elaborate extracts were from the note-books of Inspector Byrnes. Mrs Hindley, of Holywell street, whohas the most extensive knowledge of What may be termed three volume, or library fiption, of anyone in the London trade, telle me that "The Heavenly Twine" is the greatest success of the decade. One heard more of "Eobert Elpmere," of "Tie Little Minister" and of '^esj*," huss}ie sale ef Miss Graqd's novel in the three volume form has excelled even that' of Mre Ward's big book. Heinemanji has 'a chep/p edition (similar to yours in the Colony) ready, but the Sis 6d issue continuef to sell so briskly he has, held it oyer. Note in Temple Bc^r for Angnst an interesting article on visits to Ibsen %hd Bjornsterne Bjprnson, by Mrs Alexander Tweedie; "At the Green Dragbnj" \>f clever Miss H arraden in Biacfcwopd ; " Lptt and Liz," one of George Gisßing's relentlessly real tales of life amongst the poorer London workers, and ' a capitauy illustrated article on Beivoir Castle, of. the Duchess o_ Kutland, both mi tiie English Illustrated. The Natiwytl BevUvf contains a contribution by Kipling, called "The White Seal," which I hfye'jwt seen yet, owing to being out of town a few days. The Fortnightly seems A wholly uninteresting number, and in the pew Review I only found an article pn "Women's Brains" worth, reading <__u^». fully. Mr "Maarten Maartens" the talbpttf yonng Dutchman, whose remarkable novels (written in Eogliah) we aU know, has hfim staying in London, and was shown "around the town" by his friend, J. M. Barrie. Jfr Barrie, though he drinks nothing stronger than beer, and but little of that, is by £0 j means averse to anoccaaional night at one of the Bohemian Clubs, and will ait yarning and puffing at a pipe or a cigar for honra together with any bo<_y -enter taming. By the way, the Arcadia Mixture tobacoo referred to so often in " Lady Nicotinf ' is a genuine blend, though " Arcadia/ may not be itß usual name. Curious persons can, however, I have rid doubt, test its merits by sending to Carreras, 7, Wardour street, Soho, and asking for the mixture Mr Barrie uses. The August Pall Mall Magazine ahof I an improvement on its predecessors aa regards illustrations, and the names of the contributors are smart enough ill all conscience. It cannot, however, be justly said the efforts of some of thesis "big guns " equal their reputations. Mr Conan Doyle sends a George B. Sims-ia* balifW called "Pennarby Mine," whicft both as regards manner and matter hie Natiev^l Observer friends would call "piffle;" and Miss Braddoa's " Dnlminster Dynamiter" does not riso above the lowest; magazine level. On the other band Mr Stanley Weyman's "The Snowball" and fiu? Norris' "A Candidate for Martyrdo^' are both g/ood of their sort, and Mr Reginald Blutit's history of a voyage in acan»l boat describes a novel and seemingly highly successful experiment. Those who have tried to believe in tbe honesty /and good faith of Mr Stead wttl find the- whole ,_ong story of Julia In Borderlc md (from which I cent you extracts Last mail) exceedingly difficult to swallov.. After perusing it, three courpea seem Open to the reader. One may holt the narrative, whole, or assume Mr Stead to bf 3 the dupe of hia own too lively invagination, or pronounce the business a journalistic " fake," cleverly worked up to '"boom" a new venture. I fear the laefj-named is the most natural and pK>« ba?3le hypothesis, remembering the good toun'a antecedents. Mr Stead will play "spooks" (just as he played M^den T.'ribute and Mattei-ism and Anti-Dilk-.j»m), so long as they remain trumpp. 'When the craze paila he'll find something else wherewith to tickle tho publio palate and sell his publications. The death of Mr Fred. Burg«*/ 0_. % Moore and Burgess Wjinstrels, nas caused quite a flutter amongst firat edition fad*

dista. He had one of the finest collections 9f Dicltent, Thaokeray, Lever and Cruiokebaolc in Europe, and its dispersion will throw many rare and interesting literary curios, on the market. Mr. Burgess* col-lection-of first --)i<_kena' was specially remarkable, indeed, seoond only to that of Mr Wright, the "eminent Pans bookmaker," whioh Americau faddists visiting t___Y Frenoh capital invariably make ,1. point o£ Beeing. Whenever any Dickens' curios were put up to auction at Sotheby's of late years, Burgess >nd Wright were alwaya sure to be represented^ and ran the coveted work up to a Meposterous price. Thoy and one or two others^ inolnding Mr Leopold and Mr Alfred de jftothsohiid, were mainly responsible for exorbitant rates which all modern first editions reached a few years ago.' Burgess* \ death unquestionably means, j Amongst other things, a "fall in first, Dickens*," and many are the second-hand ] : booksellers who will mourn hi m sincerely. | ■_■•-., -"l__-n*smead_" by Henry F. Buller, isa i tiree-yolttme novel by (if I am not making , » mistiike) a younger brother of Sir Eedvere Bnller. It contains no partioular plot, being simply the hißtory of eeveral families resident in-^he neighbourhood of Kiqg_mead, whioh. is the author's name for I__ingßton»on*slw_ne9. The cb aracters are likewise drawn from life, but co goodnattftedly that tbe. originals must be cross-grained indeed if they take offence. Though Mr Boiler derides the narrow j pride and "prejudice of a certain olass of County folk he evidently possesses a fair share of bofh himself; Many readers will fail to understand why Philip Eay nea, a Government official's private secretary , with_JEsoOa year, turned up his nose so -I loftily at the ladylike and, charming daughter of the rich contractor Hoffman. Mr Buller implies that though Philip loved this girl (who was in every w*y worthy) marriage into such a family would bave degraded him and ended nnhappily. The average man's view will, I fear, on the contrary, be that Philip feen&ved shabbily, and deserved all the discomfort which oversook him.