The Trail of the Serpent

This is not a children's book, as may be supposed from the title, but a collection of essays first published in The Idler magazine, in which over twenty well-known authors write with characteristic style and humour of their experiences in writing their first book... and getting it published. Authors include Jerome K. Jerome, R. L. Stevenson, Bret Harte, Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, Conan Doyle and Mary Braddon. Full of charm, humour and pathos, this book is like a fireside chat with great writers of the past, as well as being a fascinating insight into the literary scene of the late 19th century. The listener is warned that a few of the authors give away the ending of their book, especially when they were pressurised into changing it by the publisher. . Here are links to online texts of the works discussed, where available: <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/readymoneymorti02besagoog" target="_blank">Ready-Money Mortiboy</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/familyscapegrac00payngoog" target="_blank">The Family Scapegrace</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/wreckgrosvenorb00shigoog" target="_blank">The Wreck of the ‘Grosvenor’</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/physiologicalae00allegoog" target="_blank">Physiological Aesthetics</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6060" target="_blank">Philistia</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14262" target="_blank">The Shadow of a Crime</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/7846" target="_blank">Departmental Ditties</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/trailserpentano00bradgoog" target="_blank">The Trail of the Serpent</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/houseelmorebyfw02elmogoog" target="_blank">The House of Elmore</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10892" target="_blank">Dawn</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/21758" target="_blank">Hudson Bay</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/premierandpaint00cowegoog" target="_blank">The Premier and the Painter</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/westernavernus00robegoog" target="_blank">The Western Avernus</a>; <a href="https://archive.org/details/lifesatonementno03chri" target="_blank">A Life’s Atonement</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4394" target="_blank">A Romance of Two Worlds</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/onstageandoffbri00jeroiala" target="_blank">On the Stage and Off</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/cavalrylifeorsk00unkngoog" target="_blank">Cavalry Life</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17842" target="_blank"> Dead Man’s Rock</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/undertones00buchgoog" target="_blank">Undertones</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/idylslegendsofin00buch" target="_blank">Idyls and Legends of Inverburn</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/120" target="_blank">Treasure Island</a> (Summary by Ruth Golding)

Arts

This is not a children's book, as may be supposed from the title, but a collection of essays first published in The Idler magazine, in which over twenty well-known authors write with characteristic style and humour of their experiences in writing their first book... and getting it published.Authors include Jerome K. Jerome, R. L. Stevenson, Bret Harte, Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, Conan Doyle and Mary Braddon. Full of charm, humour and pathos, this book is like a fireside chat with great writers of the past, as well as being a fascinating insight into the literary scene of the late 19th century.The listener is warned that a few of the authors give away the ending of their book, especially when they were pressurised into changing it by the publisher..Here are links to online texts of the works discussed, where available: Ready-Money Mortiboy; The Family Scapegrace; The Wreck of the ‘Grosvenor’; Physiological Aesthetics; Philistia; The Shadow of a Crime; Departmental Ditties; The Trail of the Serpent; The House of Elmore; Dawn; Hudson Bay; The Premier and the Painter; The Western Avernus; A Life’s Atonement; A Romance of Two Worlds; On the Stage and Off; Cavalry Life; Dead Man’s Rock; Undertones; Idyls and Legends of Inverburn; Treasure Island(Summary by Ruth Golding)

This is not a children's book, as may be supposed from the title, but a collection of essays first published in The Idler magazine, in which over twenty well-known authors write with characteristic style and humour of their experiences in writing their first book... and getting it published. Authors include Jerome K. Jerome, R. L. Stevenson, Bret Harte, Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, Conan Doyle and Mary Braddon. Full of charm, humour and pathos, this book is like a fireside chat with great writers of the past, as well as being a fascinating insight into the literary scene of the late 19th century. The listener is warned that a few of the authors give away the ending of their book, especially when they were pressurised into changing it by the publisher. . Here are links to online texts of the works discussed, where available: <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/readymoneymorti02besagoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ready-Money Mortiboy</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/familyscapegrac00payngoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Family Scapegrace</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/wreckgrosvenorb00shigoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wreck of the ‘Grosvenor’</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/physiologicalae00allegoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">Physiological Aesthetics</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/6060" rel="noopener noreferrer">Philistia</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14262" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Shadow of a Crime</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/7846" rel="noopener noreferrer">Departmental Ditties</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/trailserpentano00bradgoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Trail of the Serpent</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/houseelmorebyfw02elmogoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">The House of Elmore</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10892" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dawn</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/21758" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hudson Bay</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/premierandpaint00cowegoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Premier and the Painter</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/westernavernus00robegoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Western Avernus</a>; <a href="https://archive.org/details/lifesatonementno03chri" rel="noopener noreferrer">A Life’s Atonement</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4394" rel="noopener noreferrer">A Romance of Two Worlds</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/onstageandoffbri00jeroiala" rel="noopener noreferrer">On the Stage and Off</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/cavalrylifeorsk00unkngoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cavalry Life</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17842" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Dead Man’s Rock</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/undertones00buchgoog" rel="noopener noreferrer">Undertones</a>; <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/idylslegendsofin00buch" rel="noopener noreferrer">Idyls and Legends of Inverburn</a>; <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/120" rel="noopener noreferrer">Treasure Island</a> (Summary by Ruth Golding)

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The Trail of the Serpent

The Trail of the Serpent