A TALE BY MANY AUTHORS.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 226, 10 January 1885, Page 1

A TALE BY MANY AUTHORS.

THE AWARD

The experiment of publishing " A Tale by Many Authors " was undertaken at the suggestion of a friend, who furnished the first chapter by way of giving it a start. The conditions were that each chapter should be furnished by a different author, and that a prize of two guineas should be awarded to the writer of the best chapter of the series. The number of chapters was limited to twelve, but the editor reserved the right of terminating the story at any time. The result of the experiment has added another proof, if any were needed, of the trite old adage, "That too many cooks spoil the broth." It soon became apparent that the main object of some of the writers was to involve the plot in such inextricable confusion that it would result in a collapse. The denouement was hurried on with a swiftness that threatened not only the annihilation of all the characters, but the whole universe, and to avert such a catastrophe, fortunately, we arrested the progress of events in time to avert such an imaginary catastrophe as was impending, and by a judicious hint to our readers, diverted the story into a more moderate channel. The competitors for the prize have, however, been comparatively few. For some weeks only one chapter was sent in, and consequently it was a matter of liobson's choice with us, though some of the chapters were so absurd and foreign to the taste that there was nothing for it but to reject them. We published nine chapters by the following competitors : — "Blank," Mr James, "Lilian," "MickMerriman," " Keewatui," " Bloggs," " PakehaMaori," and " Juliet" The ninth and last chapter, by "E.M.T.," unravels the tangled skein very skilfully, and to this competitor we award the two guineas.