Queen Mary's Gift Book (article 12 december 1915)
Queen Mary's Gift Book is an article published in the Weekly Dispatch on 12 december 1915.
Queen Mary's Gift Book
BUY IT — AND EARN THE GRATITUDE OF THE MEN WHO HAVE BEEN MAIMED IN BATTLE.
Queen Mary's Gift Book, in aid of her Majesty's Convalescent Auxiliary Hospitals for Soldiers and Sailors who have lost their limbs in battle, is again full of good things this year. It costs half a crown, and those who buy it, besides acquiring entertaining literature by some of the greatest modern authors, know that they are earning the gratitude of many maimed soldiers.
The book opens with a portrait of Queen Mary, from a painting by William Llewellyn, A.R.A. Follows an introduction by John Galsworthy, in which he explains the objects of the Queen's hospitals; a portrait of the King by A. S. Cope, R.A.; and an essay on "The Pleasures of Reading," by Mr. A. J. Balfour. Among the many other famous authors who have contributed to the book are E. F. Benson. John Buchan, Hall Caine, Joseph Conrad, Sir A. Conan Doyle, Jerome K. Jerome, Mrs. Humphry Ward, Joseph Hocking, and Sir Gilbert Parker.
Sir J. M. Barrie has written a delightfully humorous short story entitled "The New Dramatist," in which are described the ambitions and trials of a young would-be playwright and his faithful wife. Sir A. Conan Doyle's contribution is a stirring poem of the battle of Ypres. There are also many excellent reproductions of the paintings of famous artists.
