Familiar
with the life of the vulture family, the author changed the bird
from which the feather fell to that described in "Freckles." Mrs.
Porter had the old swamp at that time practically untouched, and
all its traditions to work upon and stores of natural history
material. This falling feather began the book which in a few days
she had definitely planned and in six months completely written.
Her title for it was "The Falling Feather," that tangible thing
which came drifting down from Nowhere, just as the boy came, and
she has always regretted the change to "Freckles." John Murray
publishes a British edition of this book which is even better
liked in Ireland and Scotland than in England.
As "The Cardinal" was published originally not by Doubleday, Page
& Company, but by another firm, the author had talked over with
the latter house the scheme of "Freckles" and it had been agreed
to publish the story as soon as Mrs. Porter was ready. How the
book finally came to Doubleday, Page & Company she recounts as
follows:
"By the time `Freckles' was finished, I had exercised my woman's
prerogative and `changed my mind'; so I sent the manuscript to
Doubleday, Page & Company, who accepted it. They liked it well
enough to take a special interest in it and to bring it out with
greater expense than it was at all customary to put upon a novel
at that time; and this in face of the fact that they had
repeatedly warned me that the nature work in it would kill fully
half its chances with the public.
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