Editing Stephen Crane (section)

===Spanish–American War===
After staying in [[Limpsfield]], Surrey, for a few days, Crane and Taylor settled in Ravensbrook, a plain brick villa in [[Oxted]].<ref>Wertheim (1994), p. 266</ref> Referring to themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Crane, the couple lived openly in England, but Crane concealed the relationship from friends and family in the United States.<ref>Davis, p. 219</ref> Admired in England, Crane thought himself attacked back home: "There seem so many of them in America who want to kill, bury and forget me purely out of unkindness and envy and—my unworthiness, if you choose", he wrote.<ref>Davis, p. 225</ref> Velestino the dog sickened and died soon after their arrival in England, on August 1. Crane, who had a great love for dogs,<ref>Linson, p. 107</ref> wrote an emotional letter to a friend an hour after the dog's death, stating that "for eleven days we fought death for him, thinking nothing of anything but his life."<ref name="ber188">Berryman, p. 188</ref> The Limpsfield-Oxted area was home to members of the socialist [[Fabian Society]] and a magnet for writers such as [[Edmund Gosse]], [[Ford Madox Ford]] and [[Edward Garnett]]. Crane also met the Polish-born novelist [[Joseph Conrad]] in October 1897, with whom he would have what Crane called a "warm and endless friendship".<ref name="Davis, p. 245">Davis, p. 245</ref>

Although Crane was confident among peers, strong negative reviews of the recently published ''The Third Violet'' were causing his literary reputation to dwindle.  Reviewers were also highly critical of Crane's war letters, deeming them self-centered.<ref>Davis, p. 211</ref> Although ''The Red Badge of Courage'' had by this time gone through fourteen printings in the United States and six in England, Crane was running out of money. To survive financially, he wrote prolifically for both the English and the American markets.<ref>Davis, p. 214</ref> He wrote in quick succession stories such as ''The Monster'', "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky", "Death and the Child" and "The Blue Hotel".<ref name="ber188"/> Crane began to attach price tags to his new works of fiction, hoping that "The Bride", for example, would fetch $175.<ref>Davis, p. 223</ref>

As 1897 ended, Crane's money crisis worsened.<ref>Davis, p. 236</ref> [[Amy Leslie]], a reporter from [[Chicago]] and a former lover, sued him for $550.<ref>Berryman, p. 205</ref> The ''New York Times'' reported that Leslie gave him $800 in November 1896 but that he had repaid only a quarter.<ref>Wertheim (1994), p. 285</ref> In February, he was summoned to answer Leslie's claim. The claim was apparently settled out of court, because no record of adjudication exists.<ref>Wertheim (1994), p. 290</ref> Meanwhile, Crane felt "heavy with troubles" and "chased to the wall" by expenses.<ref>Davis, p. 239</ref> He confided to his agent that he was $2,000 in debt but that he would "beat it" with more literary output.<ref>Davis, pp. 241–42</ref>

Soon after the {{USS|Maine|ACR-1|6}} exploded in [[Havana Harbor]] on February 15, 1898, under suspicious circumstances, Crane was offered a £60 advance by ''[[Blackwood's Magazine]]'' for articles "from the seat of war in the event of a war breaking out" between the United States and Spain.<ref name="Davis, p. 245"/> His health was failing, and it is believed that signs of his [[tuberculosis|pulmonary tuberculosis]], which he may have contracted in childhood,<ref>Davis, p. 273</ref> became apparent.<ref>Benfey, p. 240</ref> With almost no money coming in from his finished stories, Crane accepted the assignment and left Oxted for New York.<ref>Wertheim (1994), p. 298</ref> Taylor and the rest of the household stayed behind to fend off local creditors. Crane applied for a passport and left New York for [[Key West]] two days before Congress declared war. While the war idled, he interviewed people and produced occasional copy.<ref>Davis, p. 248</ref>

In early June, he observed the establishment of an American base in Cuba when Marines seized [[Guantánamo Bay]].<ref>Berryman, p. 221</ref> He went ashore with the Marines, planning "to gather impressions and write them as the spirit moved."<ref>Davis, p. 252</ref> Although he wrote honestly about his fear in battle, others observed his calmness and composure. He would later recall "this prolonged tragedy of the night" in the war tale "Marines Signaling Under Fire at Guantanamo".<ref>Davis, p. 253</ref> After showing a willingness to serve during fighting at Cuzco, Cuba, by carrying messages to company commanders, Crane was officially cited for his "material aid during the action".<ref>Davis, p. 254</ref>

He continued to report upon various battles and the worsening military conditions and praised Theodore Roosevelt's [[Rough Riders]], despite past tensions with the Commissioner. In early July, Crane was sent to the United States for medical treatment for a high fever.<ref>Davis, p. 267</ref> He was diagnosed with [[yellow fever]], then [[malaria]].<ref>Benfey, p. 251</ref> Upon arrival in [[Old Point Comfort]], Virginia, he spent a few weeks resting in a hotel.  Although Crane had filed more than 20 dispatches in the three months he had covered the war, the ''World'''s business manager believed that the paper had not received its money's worth and fired him.<ref>Davis, p. 270</ref> In retaliation, Crane signed with Hearst's ''New York Journal'' with the wish to return to Cuba. He traveled first to [[Puerto Rico]] and then to Havana. In September, rumors began to spread that Crane, who was working anonymously, had either been killed or disappeared.<ref>Davis, p. 282</ref> He sporadically sent out dispatches and stories about the mood and conditions in Havana, but he was soon desperate for money again. Taylor, left alone in England, was also penniless. She became frantic with worry over her lover's whereabouts; they were not in direct communication until the end of the year.<ref>Davis, p. 288</ref> Crane left Havana and arrived in England on January 11, 1899.