No list of contemporary American writers of fiction would be
complete without the names of F. Hopkinson Smith, John Fox, Jr.,
Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, and Miss Mary Johnston. Mr. Smith has gained
skill as a writer steadily as he has gained skill as a painter; and
in the small group of stories which bear his name two or three are
likely to be read for a long time to come. “The Fortunes of Oliver
Horn” shows Mr. Smith’s art at his best, for it is art of the
heart as well as of the brain and hand. His romance has permanent
elements of human nature; idealism, loyalty, and love are the soul
of it.
Mr. Fox, who also finds his characters largely in the South, has
drawn the picture of the primitive mountain types in the Kentucky
hills with the charm which comes from great simplicity and from an
intimate knowledge of the people he describes.
Miss Johnston, who began by writing romances pure and simple, has
dramatized the story of the Civil War in two able novels, “The Long
Roll” and “Cease Firing.” It is not easy to characterize these
stories in a phrase, nor is it necessary. They are written with a
kind of quiet passion which gives the current sufficient volume to
carry an enormous amount of history without sacrificing dramatic
interest.
[Illustration: F. HOPKINSON SMITH]
[Illustration: MARY JOHNSTON]
[Illustration: JOHN FOX, JR.]
[Illustration: DR. S. WEIR MITCHELL]
Dr. Mitchell, like Dr. Holmes, revealed himself in several
different capacities, as physician, as poet, as essayist, and as
story writer. His novels are characterized by inventiveness, by
dexterity, by freshness of feeling. “The Adventures of François” is
a capital piece of story-telling; while many people regard “Hugh
Wynne” as the best semi-historical story which has appeared in
this country. In other novels Dr. Mitchell showed his skill as a
psychologist.
_SUPPLEMENTARY READING_
[Illustration]