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The Author. Katherine Mansfield (Kathleen Beauchamp) was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and died at Fontainebleau, France (Jan. 9, 1923), at the age of 34. Her first book, In a German Pension, appeared in 1911, in England, when she was 21. In 1913 she married J. Middleton Murry, English critic, editor, novelist. Her other books are Bliss and Other Stories (1920) and The Garden Party (1922). At the time of her death she had just become universally recognized as the foremost writer of short stories in English.
Necrology
Eight Wielders of the Pen Meet at Last the Wielder of the Scythe
Penmanship is the occasion of comparatively few occupational diseases. Yet during the early months of 1923 mortality has been high in the literary fraternity. At least eight well-known names have joined the roster of the dead. It is noteworthy, however, that all but one of these passed away ripe in years. The exception is Katherine Mansfield, whose death came upon her in mid-career. The others are:
Maurice Hewlett (Jan. 22, 1861), English novelist, poet, critic. The Forest Lovers, a medieval romance published in 1898, established Hewlett's reputation in a field in which, despite the wave of imitation that followed its success, he still remains among the most eminent. Other medieval novels include Richard Yea-and-Nay, The Song of Renny and The Queen's Quair, which deals with Mary, Queen of Scots.
Alice Meynell, poet and essayist, leader in the English Catholic literary movement. Her Poems and A Father of Women display intense, controlled emotion, often devotional in subject. The Rhythm of Life and The Second Person Singular are essays. Her husband, Wilfrid Meynell, and herself rescued the poet, Francis Thompson, from starvation.
Pierre Loti (Louis Marie Julien Viaud), French novelist, sculptor, painter, musician, Academician and Naval officer (Jan. 14, 1850). Author of Le mariage de Loti, Le Roman d'un Spahi, Pêcheur d'lslande, Mon Frère Yves and other colorful novels, frequently drawn from his own experiences in the tropics. Loti's literary influence waned perceptibly during his last years.
Kate Douglas Wiggin (Mrs. George C. Riggs), author and playwright (Sept. 28,1859). Besides writing the ever-popular The Birds' Christmas Carol and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, she was also a pioneer in certain charitable work and organized the first free kindergarten on the Pacific Coast.
Emerson Hough, American novelist (June 28, 1857), author of the story now cinematized as The Covered Wagon, North of 36 and other western stories.
Henry Edward Krehbiel, dean of New York music critics (March 10, 1854), author of How to Listen to Music.
Sir William Robertson Nicoll (Claudius Clear) (Oct. 10, 1851), editor The British Weekly.
*THE DOVES' NEST—The late Katherine Mansfield—Knopf ($2.50).