CRUEL OPTIMISM SERIES

The early dime novels were wrapped in a salmon-colored cover, and after the first 28, Beadle & Adams started adding illustrations.

CRUEL OPTIMISM SERIES

Stephens, and it was the first of 321 novels published by Beadle & Adams in their series BeadleвЂ™s Dime Novels. It was called Malaeska, the Indian Wife of the White Hunter, by Ann S. It was on this day in 1860 that the first true dime novel was published. She said, вЂњPerhaps the universal sisterhood is necessary before the universal brotherhood is possible.вЂќ In 1905, Bertha von Suttner became the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize that she had helped inspire. Nobel died in 1896, and the first Nobel Prize was given in 1901. She was thrilled-she responded: вЂњWhether I am around then or not does not matter what we have given, you and I, is going to live on.вЂќ Shortly before his death, Nobel informed Bertha that in his will, he was leaving his money for the creation of what is now the Nobel Peace Prize. He wrote to Bertha: вЂњPerhaps my factories will put an end to war sooner than your congresses: on the day that two army corps can mutually annihilate each other in a second, all civilized nations will surely recoil with horror and disband their troops.вЂќ His ambivalence also came from his own life-he had made his fortune as the inventor of dynamite, and later through the development of weapons. He donated significant amounts of money to her causes, but he was skeptical-concerned that despite all the good will of the anti-war movement, its participants hadnвЂ™t formulated a realistic alternative. Von Suttner wrote Nobel letter after letter urging him to get more involved in the peace movement. It was wildly popular, and by 1905 it was going into its 37th edition and had been translated into nearly all of the European languages. So she set out to write a novel that would advance the cause of the peace movement, and that was Die Waffen nieder, or Lay Down Your Arms (1889). She was quickly connected to a network of peace activists, and decided that the movement was her true calling. The von Suttners made enough money from their books to travel to Paris, and there Bertha rekindled her connection with Alfred Nobel.

They also wrote-during those years, Bertha von Suttner published four novels, a memoir, and Inventarium einer Seele, or Inventory of a Soul (1883), in which she advocated for international peace. They spent nine years living in the Caucasus, where they taught music lessons and read everything they could get their hands on. His family was no less enthusiastic about their marriage than before, and the two young people had to fend for themselves. But after about a week, she got a telegram from Arthur saying that he couldnвЂ™t live without her. They spent their days walking around Paris and talking about ideas-art, literature, international politics. It turned out that her employer wasnвЂ™t elderly either-he was 43, and he was the industrialist Alfred Nobel.Д«ertha and Nobel hit it off, and she was less of a secretary to Nobel than a friend. The ad said: вЂњA very wealthy, cultured, elderly gentleman, living in Paris, desires to find a lady also of mature years, familiar with languages, as secretary and manager of his household.вЂќ Bertha was 33, not exactly elderly, but she applied anyway and was offered the job. She showed Bertha the ad and hinted that she should leave. ArthurвЂ™s mother disapproved of the romance between her son and Bertha, and was delighted when she found an advertisement in a Viennese newspaper looking for someone with exactly BerthaвЂ™s qualifications. Unfortunately for her job security, Bertha fell in love with the son, Arthur von Suttner. She took a job as a governess to a wealthy family, the von Suttners. When she was 30 she realized that it was time to stop relying on her mother, who was gambling away the rest of the familyвЂ™s money. Still, Bertha received the best education, was fluent in several languages, and traveled all over Europe. The family had once been wealthy, so she moved in upper-class circles, but they lived beyond their means. Her father died before she was born, and she was raised by her mother.

ItвЂ™s the birthday of the novelist and peace activist Baroness Bertha von Suttner, born in Prague (1843). вЂњTo Jane: The Keen Stars Were TwinklingвЂќ by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Cruel optimism