A BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE
NEW YORK
THE CENTURY CO.
1915
Copyright, 1915, by
The Century Co.
——
Published, August, 1915
To
"LOLLY" my friend who was
and to JEAN my friend who is
INTRODUCTION
The writing of this book seems to me one of the most astounding literary feats I have ever known. It is one hundred thousand words long; it was started on Thanksgiving day and finished before New Year's. The actual writing occupied two weeks, the revision another two. The reason for this amazing celerity lies in the fact that it is pure reporting; the author has not branched out into any byways of style, but has merely told in the simplest language possible what she actually remembered. The circumstances in which the book was written are interesting.
The author had been wrenched from her feverishly busy life to undergo an operation in a hospital; four days later she began the writing of this book. I will quote her own words: