Page:Marie Corelli - the writer and the woman (IA mariecorelliwrit00coat).pdf/9



Miss Marie Corelli's unique personality has aroused interest and curiosity among all classes of society, and we are aware that the present work will be diligently searched for intimate information regarding the subject of these pages. It behooves us, therefore, to remind those who peruse this volume that the writing of contemporary biography is a most delicate literary performance; so, while it has been our aim to set before the public as many particulars as possible concerning Marie Corelli the Woman—as distinct from Marie Corelli the Writer—it will be apparent to the least intelligent of our patrons that, in common courtesy to Miss Corelli, it is possible for us to publish only a limited number of personal minutiæ concerning the novelist during her lifetime.

In making a general survey of Miss Corelli's various books, we have endeavored, in each case, to quote such passages as may be read with interest independently of the context, or such as tend to