Mr. Chambers is unquestionably the most popular of American novelists to-day. He is the author of some thirty books of extraordinary variety in fiction. He was born in New York, and studied in the studios of Paris to become an artist. While working at painting he took up writing as a pastime, and had such immediate success that he soon gave up art and turned to literature as his life work. Always, as a part of this interest, he has studied and worked in the field of natural history, so that to-day he is something of an authority on birds and butterflies, a confirmed fisherman, and a good shot. All these qualities--the study of art, the experience with nature, both in the line of sport and as an entomologist--have put their stamp upon his work, as will be seen by a glance at his books, for only a few of which there is space here available. THE FIRING LINE The most recent of his works is the third in a group of studies in American society life. It is full of the swing of good romance, behind which lies the bright philosophy that the saving quality in our American families is to come with the injection of fresh blood into each new generation. The story itself deals with the adopted daughter of a multimillionaire, who does not even know her own parentage--a girl from nowhere, with all the charm and beauty which a bringing up in the midst of wealth can give her. The hero is a young American of good family who first meets her at Palm Beach, Florida. Here is a background that Mr. Chambers loves--the outdoor life of exotic Florida, the everglades, the hunting, the shooting, and the sea--all in the midst of that other exotic life which goes with a winter resort and a large group of the idle rich. The story--already in its 150th thousand--is, perhaps, the author's favorite piece of work. THE YOUNGER SET is also of the social _comedie humaine_ of America, with its scenes laid in New York and on Long Island. Here again, behind a romance of love and of society complications, Mr. Chambers conceals his philosophic suggestions that may be gathered from the title. The younger set comes into our society fresh and unspoiled with each generation, and in its way contributes something of freshness, something of vigor to keep the social world from going down hill on a grade of decadence. The story deals with a man who, although still young, feels that his life is practically over because his marriage, through no fault of his own, has proved a failure and ended in divorce. He meets a young girl just introduced into society, whose wholesome youth charms him and leads him back to optimism and life. The character of _Eileen_ is perhaps one of Mr. Chambers's most real and most successful creations. The fact that this novel, after one year, is in its 200th thousand is sufficient proof of its popularity. In THE FIGHTING CHANCE