“Possession” is in no sense a sequel to “The Green Bay Tree.” The second
novel does not carry the fortunes of the characters which appeared in
the first; it reveals, speaking chronologically, little beyond the final
page of the earlier book. On the contrary both novels cover virtually
the same period of time, from the waning years of the nineteenth century
up to the present time. The two are what might be called panel novels in
a screen which, when complete, will consist of at least a half-dozen
panels all interrelated and each giving a certain phase of the ungainly,
swarming, glittering spectacle of American Life.
Those who read “The Green Bay Tree” must have felt that one
character--that of Ellen Tolliver--was thrust aside in order to make way
for the progress of Lily Shane. With the publication of the present
novel, it is possible to say that the energetic Miss Tolliver was
neglected for two reasons; first, because she was a character of such
violence that, once given her way, she would soon have dominated all the
others; second, because the author kept her purposely in restraint, as
he desired to tell her story in proportions worthy of her.
In Ellen’s story, the author, knowing that much which pertains to the
life of a musician is boring and of little interest to any one outside
the realm of music, has endeavored to eliminate all the technical side
of her education. He does this not because he lacks knowledge of the
facts but because they are in themselves uninteresting. Ellen Tolliver
might have been a sculptor, a painter, an actress, a writer; the
interest in her lies not in the calling she chose but in the character
of the woman herself. She would, doubtless, have been successful in any
direction she saw fit to direct her boundless energy.
“Possession” is the second of several novels in which familiar
characters will reappear and new ones will make their entrance.