Quote #19

He made a list of authors that floored me, beginning with Sinclair Lewis, William McFee - at that time famous for Casuals of the Sea, Command, Captain Macedoine's Daughter - and Vincent Sheehan and Mignon Eberhardt. Well, those were the plums, and he said, 'I don't know if I can get any of them.' Well, he got them all--every single one of them! ... McFee was quite deaf and like so many deaf people he shrieked at the top of his lungs and had a funny habit - he'd grab you by the ear and scream into your ear. Of course, he couldn't hear. He'd start screaming in Harry Maule's ear and Harry would try to quiet him down. I still remember that we used to fall on the floor laughing at McFee and Harry Maule. What a combination this was. He was a nice man - McFee - an old sea captain. Unfortunately he drifted off and lost his popularity, but he did write three fine books: Casuals of the Sea, Captain Macedoine's Daughter, and Command. I think they're as good as Conrad's Sea Tales.

More from William McFee

  1. He tells a story with the narrative power of a master of that art. His prose style has the rare combination of rhythm and smoothness togeth…
  2. There are some men whom a staggering emotional shock, so far from making them mental invalids for life, seems, on the other hand, to awaken…
  3. Terrible and sublime thought, that every moment is supreme for some man and woman, every hour the apotheosis of some passion!
  4. Steam engines are very human. Their very weaknesses are understandable. Steam engines do not flash back and blow your face in. They do not …
  5. One must choose between Obscurity with Efficiency, and Fame with its inevitable collateral of Bluff.
  6. It is extraordinary how many emotional storms one may weather in safety if one is ballasted with ever so little gold.
  7. If fate means you to lose, give him a good fight anyhow.
  8. A young man must let his ideas grow, not be continually rooting them up to see how they are getting on.

All William McFee quotes