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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



November, 1915 



FRECKLES IN ENGLAND 



MRS. GENE STRATTON-PORTER'S 

 first story of the now famous "Limber- 

 lost" was published ten years ago, and 

 a small edition was purchased by Mr. John 

 Murray, the English publisher. It took several 

 years before these copies were finally put into 

 circulation. Two or three years ago, the 

 success of the book in this country having be- 

 come so pronounced, it was suggested that Mr. 

 Murry should make a new edition. The 

 book was set up and printed in England and 

 put upon the market in this new form, without 

 illustrations. The sale of this edition went on 

 until some thirty or forty thousand copies 

 were disposed of. 



Last June "Freckles" was added to a series 

 of books in simple cloth binding. In two 

 months, notwithstanding war and rumors of 

 war, about 100,000 copies were sold each 

 month, and already some 250,000 copies have 

 been printed. 



The fact that the story of "Freckles" is 

 purely American in scene and interest and that 

 books on the great war are supposed to hold 

 the centre of the stage in England makes the 

 success of the book a great tribute to the 

 author. Her new book, "Michael O 'Halloran," 

 has already sold more in England, though 

 published only a few weeks, than was sold in a 

 year of her last book. Meantime, Mickey 

 goes on his triumphant way in this country and 

 Canada, and even in far away Australia, 

 whence a new order has just come for a third 

 edition. 



THE CHEERFUL "BAMBl" RECALLED 



Last fall the adventures of "Bambi" came 

 upon the public as a new and gay note in book- 

 writing. "Bambi" was so charming, so light- 

 hearted, and so proficient and capable withal 

 that she won all hearts, at least a hundred 

 thousand of them. 



To these same people it will be good news 

 that Miss Marjorie Benton Cooke has written 

 a new book, bright and cheerful, entitled "The 

 Dual Alliance." It is the story of another 

 successful young lady who did many original 

 things in an original way, and achieved her 

 ends in a manner which we are sure will delight 

 the sympathetic hearts of all her readers. 



BOOK SETS TOR CHRISTMAS 



It is, at least to the publisher, an agreeable 

 sign of the times that the collected works of 

 some good authors are in increasing demand in 

 leather bindings. Here in Garden City we are 

 making at least 1,000 books a day in attractive 

 limp leather form of the works of 



Rudyard Kipling .... 23 Volumes 



O. Henry 12 Volumes 



Joseph Conrad 12 Volumes 



each, we think, appropriately dressed in its 

 proper color — books pleasant to hold in the 

 hand and in a binding which will last. The 

 difference in price between the cloth and leather 

 styles is hardly ever greater than 25 cents, and 

 often only 1 5 cents a volume. 



In this connection we may remind our 

 readers that we publish a Kipling Index, giving 

 the titles of Kipling's stories, the titles and 

 first lines of his poems, and a sketch of his life. 

 Other bibliographical and biographical little 

 books are devoted to the following authors 

 published by Doubleday, Page & Company: 



Stewart Edward White Joseph Conrad 

 Gene Stratton-Porter Booth Tarkington 

 O. Henry Frank Norris 



and copies of any or all of these little books will 

 be sent with our compliments to any one re- 

 questing them. 



CHRISTMAS COUNTRY LIFE 



The cover this year is really good to look 

 upon. It is a reproduction, quite perfect in 

 texture and color, of a copy bound in grained 

 green Morocco. The effect is rich and in 

 harmony with the text and illustrations inside. 

 Here are some of the contents: 



Spending the Winter in the Country, by Zephine 

 Humphrey, in which the well known essayist tells of 

 discovering the fulness of life in the country. The 

 illustrations, in color, are by Walter Hale. 



A Colonial Homestead for Posterity — the Ropes 

 house in Salem, which, by the terms of its former owners' 

 wills is to pass on down the ages, an epitome of archi- 

 tecture, furnishings, and even old costumes of early New 

 England. 



Bob White, by Walter A. Dyer, is a real Christmas 

 story of the quail, with characteristic illustrations in 

 color by Charles Livingston Bull. 



Country Life in Colonial America, by Grace 

 Norton Rose, decorated in color by J. M. Rose, gives a 

 lifelike picture of Christmastide in the Virginia and 

 Massachusetts colonies. 



The Fire on the Hearth, by Alden Fearing, opens 

 up the whole fascinating story of what the hearth has 

 meant in the homes of all ages — its early religious signi- 

 ficance, its changing architecture, reflecting the life of the 

 time. The illustrations, in color, are by Orson Lowell. 



Potatoes from a Worn-out Farm, a story by H. 

 W. Collingwood — 'nuff said? Just let us add that it's 

 the first of a series of "Farms that Came Back." 



The Oaks, tells of the restoration of one of the oldest 

 mansions of the South — one of the show places of 

 America "befo' de wah." 



Then there is another of the Best Twelve Country 

 Houses, a wealth of big pictures, some furniture treas- 

 ures from Jacobean days, and last but not least, the 

 regular departments in all the brave showing of a, 

 Christmas dress. 



We receive now and then a letter from some 

 reader mildly remarking that Country Life 

 contains too many advertisements, and other 

 letters (not, we hope, written to the editors,) 

 saying that the advertisements are almost the 

 best part of the magazine, being attractive and 

 often beautiful, as well as useful. 



It may interest readers of the magazine to 

 know that a modern magazine could not be sold 

 at anything like the prices of the present day 

 except for the advertisements. For instance, 

 the price the reader pays for Country Life 

 is about half its cost, and when one considers 

 the number of people that the modern magazine 

 reaches because of its cheapness surely there 

 is much to be said for the advertiser. 



MRS. KATHLEEN NORRIS'S BOOK 



In the middle of September we published a 

 story about a girl who, though brought up in 

 the unattractive, tawdry surroundings of the 

 lower class of the theatrical profession, was 

 somehow possessed of ideals of a better life and 

 the courage to fight for them. Julia Page suc- 

 ceeded. From a common, though outwardly 

 attractive, girl of fifteen, she developed into a 

 noble woman, fine of feeling and rich in knowl- 

 edge of what is worthwhile in life. The question 

 is often asked if such a thing is possible; if a girl 

 brought up in poverty and without refining 

 ideals at home can develop into a woman of 

 taste and culture. To our mind the question is 

 answered in this book, "The Story of Julia 

 Page," by Kathleen Norris. We have the feeling 

 that so genuine, so plucky, so true a character 

 as Julia Page must be real, if not here at least 

 somewhere. Already, too, her story shows signs 

 of great popularity. Before the book was pub- 

 lished we had to put it twice to press, and now 

 thirty thousand copies have been printed. 



