CONTACTS By Curtis Brown Mr. Curtis Brown's collection of recollections
(Cassell, 12s. 6d.) which he refuses-with, we hope,. an eye on some future occasion—to call his autobiography, will appeal both to all writers who are inquisitive about their contemporaries and predecessors, and to the vast company of unprofessional readers who always seem to regard a book about persons engaged in literary pursuits as a piquant kind of zoological text-book. It is packed with interesting stories about famous authors and famous books, sensational newspaper deals, and every kind of literary curiosity. It is odd that the man who is now at the head of what is probably, the largest, and is certainly the best known, business of its kind in the world should have embarked on his career almost by accident. Mr. Curtis Brown was a newspaper correspondent in London when he was asked by " John Oliver Hobbes " whether he could put her .in touch with an American editor. Tbis chance request was the foundation of his career. as a literary agent. The temptation to quote from the records of his subsequent progress is strong, but must be resisted except for one irre- sistible, charming, and surely unique experience. When Mr. Curtis Brown called on Mary Cholmondeley to tell her of the terms he had arranged for her new book :
" That will never do," she said, with a kind of horror ; " I cannot think of accepting such terms ! " I had met with similar unreasonableness before, but hardly expected it from that gentle, gracious lady. What's wrong with them 1" "! Wrong ! They are far too high. I am sure clear Mr. Murray would lose money, and I could not allow that !"
One result of the publication of this anecdote will surely ,be that Mr. Murray will find his doorstep piled high with the manuscripts of authors aspiring to have personal acquaintance with his liberality. Let us pray that they will bring him as much reward as did the works of Mary Cholmondeley.
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