SUSAN WARNER.
Susan Warner. By Anna B. Warner. (G. P. Putnam's Sons. 10s. Gd. net.)—Suzan Warner wrote under the name of "Elizabeth Wetherell," a name which some at least of our readers will remember to have seen on the title-pages of " The Wide Wide World" and " Queechy." Here we have the story of how these and not a few other books came into being. There was no early irresistible longing for the pen. Warner pen made some purchases of land which turned out badly, and the books were written to mend the family fortunes. "The Wido Wide World" was not written till Miss Warner was thirty. Nor did it find a ready acceptance. Most of the Now York publishers refused it,—" it came back from the Harpers with Fudge ! ' written on one of the pages." It must be remembered, however, that the American author had not a fair chance unless he or she was well known. Why should a publisher pay for a book when all English literature was open to him to choose from without paying a cent ? At last Mr. Warner went to G. P. Putnam—the firm still carries his name— and he recognised the merit of the book. It was his mother who decided the question for him: "If you never publish another book, publish this." So it was accepted, and the author was invited on a visit that she might correct the proofs on the spot, and her first experience was to hear jenny Lind sing. Her letter relating it is enthusiastic; her hosts, too, pleased her much; she wants to say that things were very nice, and she uses the word " English." Good! The book ran before very long to a fourteenth edition. What the author received for this and her other work we do not hear ; the sum was not very large, but it made things much easier at home. This biography seems, we must own, a little long, but it is certainly well worth reading.
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