Life, 1928-11-09 · page 40 of 52
Life — November 9, 1928 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertisements** for luxury cruises and tobacco, with a satirical short story in the upper right. The story, "Unsold Tales (Found in the Notebook of an Author Who Starved to Death)," is **satire mocking sentimental melodrama**. It parodies overwrought Southern Gothic fiction with exaggerated dialect ("foh," "youall," "ovah") and melodramatic plot devices: a proud but bankrupt Southern family (the Calverts), a prized racehorse named Gay Boy, a Derby race, and an orphan boy (Clem) loyal unto death. The joke is in the title and framing—this is presented as an unpublished manuscript from a starving author, implying such purple prose couldn't sell. The absurd plot twist (the heroine disguises herself as the jockey when the boy is drugged) epitomizes overwrought storytelling that Life's readers would recognize as hackneyed. The advertisements emphasize **leisure and luxury** (cruise ships, imported tobacco), contrasting sharply with the starving author frame—suggesting only wealthy readers could afford such indulgences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Unsold Tales (Found in the Notebook of an Auth Who Starved to Death) oe “Dapvy-CotoneL,” whispered Nellie-Lou, and her voice was sweet as Kentucky honeysuckle, “we'll meet the Mortgage We-all still have Gay Boy.” ie Gay Boy, with his satin coat, his irog heart, his proud arching neck- Gay whose flying hooves were the hope of the last of the Kentucky Calverts. Yes, they. all still had Gay Boy, and the Derby was but two weeks away. Little Clem, seventy-two pounds of doy alty to the Calverts, would ride the great horse, Little did it matter to Clem tht Colonel Calvert was penniless. “Suh,” said the boy, and a tear glistened on bis tanned cheek, “Ah’Il ride foh Miss N This Winter, cruise the Spanish Main—godown to the sea in the good ship Reliance, with her jolly band of Pleasure Pirates— sink dull care to the bot- tom of the briny deep—find health and happiness in the glorious Caribbean, S. 8S. RELIANCE sails from New York on Five Plea Dec. 18—16 days Feb. 23 ~27 days ave Pirate Pilgr Jan, 5—16 days ages Jan, 24—27 days Mar. 27—16 days The luxurious Rettance is cruising again to the lovely islands of the Wes Indies and tropic Caribbean ports. Soon her sports deck and tennis court, her sunlit tiled swimming pool and inter Gar- den, her lounges and decks and spacious cabins will resound with the shouts of gay buccaneers. Come along and let Winter rage behind you. Come along on the best vacation ever. Rates $200 up and $300 up. Write now for literature. HAMBURG-AMERICAN LINE 39 Broadway, New York Branches in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Fran- cisco, Los Angeles, Montreal, Winnipeg or local tourist agents e new SS. Virginia’ sails December 81 NEW YORK — vf .via HAVANA and the ‘| ANAMA CANAL The largest steamer ever bu nificent S. S. California, | i ed refinements and r Two open air, uiltin deck swimming pools, Outdoor and indoor ballrooms, Special facilities for carrying autos uncrated as baggage. ong Havana, Panama Canal, San Diego) (Coronado Beach), Los Angeles, San Francisco? * Apply No. I, Broadway, /New York, 200 Sinn Sani Fronetecer Gar offices slorwhere, for! eathertord Senn agen, fanama Pacific fine INTERNATIONAL MERCANTILE MARINE COMPANY The reason why England is a land of pipe-smokers is no mystery to the man who has once tried CRAVEN MIXTURE—the discriminating Bri- tisher’s favorite tobacco. Costs alittle more than the domestic brands—but the first pipeful will make you glad you paid the difference. CRAVEN MIXTURE—a truly fine imported tobacco, first blended at the command of the Third Earl of Craven in 1867—can now be had at the better tobacconists in the United States and Canada. too. For a liberal sample tin, send 10c in stamps to Carreras, Ltd., Dept. 30, 220 Fifth Ave., New York. Crayen Imported from London and the honah of the Calvert stables til mah las’ Great Ride is ovah!” It is the morning of the race, but where is Clem? Frantically Nellie-Lou calls his name through the echoing stables. Look, what is that still form crumpled in a cor ner of Gay Boy’s stall? “Clem!” Nellie-Lou’s voice is frenzied, “It’s Miss Nellie speakin’ to youall, honey!” But Clem does not answer. A powerful drug has done its work. He will not ride today. Now Nellie-Lou is every inch a South- ern woman, fighting for her home, for that stern old gentleman who is her be loved Daddy-Colonel. In a moment she has slipped Clem’s silks, the proud Cal vert purple with red hoops, from his inert form. Nellic-Lou Calvert will ride Gay Boy today! But stay—her startled gaze falls on the size-number sewn inside of the bloue— “14.” Sadly Nellie drops the silks and goes in to tell Daddy-Colonel that the old homestead will have to go. For Nellie Lou Calvert is a full 18. “Tr is ridiculous,” said Charis de la Marr, “to have that girl understudying me. She's a rank amateur. She's a bad actress. She's a little fool!” Tears stung Daphne Lane's blue eyss Miss de la Marr was so unkind! But some day her chance would come. Some diy she would play Molly Grogan. ‘ The lobby of the glittering Moms Theater was crowded with richly dressed women, men in the somber black and white of formal dress. “The Heart of Molly Grogan” was an established sue cess, entering the sixth week of its Broad- way run. In the wings little Daphne Lane trea bled with fear, yet her heart was singing. In ten minutes the curtain would rise, an Charis de la Marr had not yet arrived. Would Fate give to this child the réle Molly Grogan? In an electric elevator, stalled betwee floors of her luxurious apartment hous, Charis de la Marr beat on the iron bath comicbooks.com