Two recent books that deal with a theme familiar enough to novel
readers, but always stimulating. "The Garden of Allah," by
Robert Hichens, and "The Apple of Eden," by E. Temple Thurston.
Charles Carey's "The Van Suyden Sapphires" a good detective
story. Other books.
Two recent books are worthy of something more than casual notice for
reasons entirely unconnected with the question of their literary
merits, for they afford some material for reflection upon the
curiosity of coincidences and for speculation as to the value of the
priest in love as a character in fiction.
It is not to be supposed that undue significance is given to these
aspects of the appearance of the books in question, for no important
deductions are to be drawn from their nearly simultaneous publication;
it is not especially remarkable as a coincidence. It is, however, an
interesting fact that two novelists as gifted as the authors of these
two books have shown themselves to be should have been working out the
same theme in very much the same manner, and presumably at
approximately the same time.
The opportunity of the cynical critic is, of course, obvious, and he
will, if he thinks of it, lose no time in exclaiming that the most
remarkable thing about it is that the books should have found
publishers at all, and add, sourly, that if all similar coincidences
were brought to light by publication, the condition of English fiction
would be more hopeless than it is.
But the cynic would be wrong, as usual. If it is admitted that the new
books of Mr. Hichens and Mr. Thurston are not "epoch-making," it still
remains a fact that they are as nearly so as any of the books of the
year; they narrowly miss the standard which entitles them to be
genuine and permanent representatives of English literature.
No one needs to be reminded that love stories, in which the lovers are
required to surmount all sorts of obstacles, are common enough; one of
the chief difficulties in supplying the demand is to create obstacles
of the sort that will stand the test of plausibility and yet add a
reasonable means by which the hero and heroine may overcome them, for
the distracted couple must live up to what is expected of them, and
their romance must be molded by the practical maxim that nothing
succeeds like success--success meaning that their final happiness must
be in conformity with the necessities of conventional morality; their
union either blessed by the church of their faith or confirmed by law.
And it might be added that the reader, in the majority of cases, will
be conscious of a sense of uneasiness unless the happy outcome is
effected not only with his own approbation, but with that of the
conscience of each of the lovers. If any question of right and wrong
is left unsettled for them, the reader remains dissatisfied, no matter
what consideration of principle he may himself feel justified in
disregarding.
A man devoted to celibacy, by vows voluntarily made to the church
which he looks upon as his spiritual director, who finds himself in
love with a woman, in the nature of things presents an attractive
problem to a novelist--probably because the solution is so difficult;
to be sure, the theme is not altogether new, but it possesses an
interest that is never wholly satisfied; it suggests all sorts of
dramatic possibilities; it supplies material for an intense climax,
and it provokes discussion.
People will differ about what a man's duty is under such
circumstances, and the question will be asked whether his allegiance
is due to the church or to the woman who returns his love, overlooking
what may perhaps be the fact that it is not so much a question of
loyalty to the church as of loyalty to conscience; a foolish
consistency, possibly "a hobgoblin to little minds," but,
nevertheless, one to be weighed in the consideration of the story's
artistic merits.
Whatever the outcome of the conflict between conscience and
inclination, whether the old conception of duty is confirmed or is
abandoned for a new one, there remains the same difference of opinion.
Is the man weak or strong? Is his decision in conformity with the
familiar facts of human nature? Is it natural that his love for his
church should outweigh his passion for the woman? And is the woman
likely to acquiesce in the destruction of her hopes?
* * * * *
It is discouragingly seldom that a book comes to the reviewers' hands,
which, by its virility and its honest merit as literature, in the old
and true sense of the word, rises as high above the average as does
"The Garden of Allah," which Robert Hichens publishes through the
Stokes Company; and it is because it truly possesses these qualities
that it gives promise of a life of appreciation which will outlast
many other volumes in the year's crop of fiction.
In the consideration of such a book the motive power, the plot, is
hardly of moment--it is the workmanship, and what one might term the
self-conviction of the novelist, that counts. After all, the story of
the renegade monk and his earthly love, culminating in marriage, is
not unusual; one foresees the ultimate solution of this problem--his
renunciation of the world and his return to his monastery. It is a
theme which has engaged the pen of writers time out of mind--but it is
safe to say that never has the theme been handled with such mastery,
with such keenly sympathetic character delineation and analysis, as
that with which Mr. Hichens has handled it. His craftsmanship, his
insight into and understanding of human nature and the forces that
mold it--the intangible forces of the earth and air, the minute
happenings of one's daily life that, in themselves, are too likely to
pass unregarded, but work so powerfully and well-nigh irresistibly
upon the spirit of men and women--all this is superb and thorough.
His literary generalship amounts almost to genius approaching that of
the great masters of fiction. Indeed, if any fault can be found with
the book, it is that it is too painstakingly complete; nothing is left
to the imagination--or, rather, the imagination is forced by the
essence of eternal truth that seems to form each phrase and sentence,
to comprehend all, down to the least detail; and a thorough reading of
the book leaves one with the sense of physical fatigue, as if the
reader himself had experienced the violent and terrible ordeals of the
soul that were the portions of the actors in this drama of the African
desert.
* * * * *
Whether or not it would have been wiser for Mr. E. Temple Thurston to
have published his new book, "The Apple of Eden"--Dodd, Mead &
Co.--under a _nom de plume_, is largely, if not wholly, a commercial
question. Those who have shown a disposition to belittle it on account
of the interesting but irrelevant fact that he is the husband of the
author of "The Masquerader," have exhibited small powers of
discrimination and missed an opportunity to do justice to a remarkable
book, for such it unquestionably is.
The book is a very keen study of character; one of the sort that could
be made only by a close observer of human nature, accustomed to the
analysis of motives and to the due apportionment of their elements.
It is the story of the evolution of a young priest from an
inexperienced celibate to a fully developed man, by which phrase is
meant spiritually and intellectually developed by the desperate method
of temptation.
Father Everett embraced the priesthood and committed himself by
irrevocable vows with all the enthusiasm of ignorant youth and without
the slightest comprehension of the significance of his manhood. He
naturally, under such circumstances, never questioned his fitness to
advise and rebuke and absolve sinners. But with the appearance of the
woman, another and hitherto unrecognized side of his nature began to
stir, and his torture was prepared. That his love for Roona Lawless
was reciprocated, instead of bringing them joy, only added to the
horror of their situation, and it was well for them both that the man
had access to the shrewd kindliness and the worldly wisdom of his
vicar, Father Michael.
The old priest showed his surprise when the climax of his curate's
confession brought out the fact that the latter's transgression was
limited to the exchange of a kiss, and when the young man exclaimed:
"Glory be to God, wasn't it enough?" the other replied, dryly: "Faith,
it's well you found it so."
It is, to be sure, an old enough story. But its merit is that it is
told with a vigor and a dramatic insight that makes it read like a
narrative of actual fact. If it has any fault, it lies in rather
unnecessary multiplicity of physiological details.
* * * * *
It is to be hoped that Mr. Chesterton, who has recently confessed to a
weakness for reading detective stories, may be able to get a copy of
Charles Carey's book, "The Van Suyden Sapphires," just published by
Dodd, Mead & Co., for in it he will find all the diversion that he
needs, and possibly some information as to the art of plot
construction--if indeed it is an art and not a science.
It is a little bit uncertain as to whether or not Mr. Carey
intentionally emphasizes Miss Bramblestone's rather abnormal
intuition, or whether he is trading, for the purpose of his story,
upon the popular superstition--maybe it is not a superstition--that
this faculty is essentially feminine. But it is not a matter of the
highest importance whether he has or not; it is not even worth while
to be hypercritical in a discussion of the artistic quality of the
story; it would be a waste of time and space to undertake to throw
doubt upon the probability of any of the story's episodes, for when
one is forced to make the acknowledgment that Mr. Carey has written a
book that will not surrender its hold upon the attention until the
last word is read, what more need be said in its praise?
It is as good an example of the peculiar fascination exercised by
so-called detective stories as we know of; and besides this it
contains--as most of these stories do not--a lot of people who command
both our interest and sympathy, from the heroine to the self-confessed
criminal, Harry Glenn, who is, in spite of his wickedness, a very
captivating young man, as Miss Bramblestone found out, and as her
lover, Captain McCracken, was finally forced to admit.
* * * * *
"The Unwritten Law," by Arthur Henry, A. S. Barnes & Co., is extremely
interesting, and written in a curiously circumstantial style, so
explicitly worked out as to details of scenery, location and so forth,
that it constantly produces the effect of fact rather than fiction.
Various seamy sides of society are shown up in pretty plain colors,
and the author does not hesitate to draw conclusions from them, too
strongly convincing to be questioned by his readers. The old engraver,
Karl Fischer, his wife and two daughters, are typical products of the
time, especially the pretty and sensual Thekla, whose physical
exuberance and innocent carelessness of social decencies are such a
manifest result of her environment.
These four form the nucleus of the plot, and have to do with the
destinies of other characters, all equally pronounced types. Adams,
the young lawyer, is interesting in his defense of old Karl, on trial
for counterfeiting; the Vandermere and Storrs families might be
portraits drawn from our own acquaintance; more's the pity.
But the story is, nevertheless, far from commonplace. It will not make
us laugh, yet will keep us absorbed till the last page, and we lay it
down feeling that we have seen certain phases of life with some
intense lights thrown upon them.
* * * * *
Baroness Von Hutten's poor little "Pam," Dodd, Mead & Co., with her
contradicting intensity and innocence, and her distorted notions of
matters social, is as interesting a study as can be found in recent
fiction. It might be as well not to leave her in the path of
conventionally-brought-up young persons who have not her
antecedents--but their elders will understand her as a product, and
perhaps even perceive that she points a moral while adorning a tale.
Pam is the child of a mercenary English girl, well born, who has fled
to the Continent with her lover, an opera singer, who has left his
wife. Contrary to the usual result of such unions, the two are
completely happy in one another; too much so to bestow any special
attention on Pam, except the explanation to her, in most explicit
terms, of her social limitations as their offspring. Her wanderings
from one situation to another with a maid and a monkey, her shrewd
childish distrust of the conventional virtues, her slow awakening to
the absorbing passion for the man she loves, and her final realization
of the barriers which stand between them, make a strong story,
absorbing in its interest.
* * * * *
Two more detective stories are "The Amethyst Box" and "The Ruby and
the Caldron," by Anna Katharine Green, the latter published in the
same volume with another short story, "The House in the Mist," by the
same author.
The two volumes are the first of a series which the
publishers--Bobbs-Merrill Company--call "The Pocket Books," designed
to represent "the three aspects of American romance--adventure,
mystery and humor."
They are happily named, for they are small volumes, which can be
conveniently slipped into the pocket and read at odd times.
"The Amethyst Box" and "The House in the Mist" are tales of mystery of
rather a grim sort, for there are violent deaths in both, but, as in
all of Mrs. Rohlfs' stories, justice is finally executed upon the
guilty, and the reader's sense of the fitness of things is satisfied.
The only unpleasant feature of "The Caldron and the Ruby" is that
suspicion of theft is directed toward an innocent person; but inasmuch
as, in order to make a detective story, the innocent must be under
suspicion and must be ultimately vindicated, this cannot be considered
in the light of a defect.
* * * * *
Of quite a different character is the tale of Morley Roberts' "Lady
Penelope," L. C. Page & Co. The reader spends most of his time, as it
were, in the wake of a gaseous motor car. Such audacious defiance of
the conventionalities on the part of the heroine, such mystery and
scandal as to her matrimonial ventures, such "racing and chasing" and
automobiling, such varying suitors--all individually represented by
full-page illustrations--such a precociously impudent boy of fourteen
meddling with the plot and acting as Penelope's prime minister, such
mixed-up situations and harum-scarum talk, cannot be found between
ordinary lovers, but the result is amusing, to say nothing more. The
best character in the book is the old duchess, for whose mystification
Penelope's scheme is planned, and who only at the climax discovers,
like the rest of us, which of six men her niece has married, though
all of them lay claim to that honor.
* * * * *
"Return," by Alice MacGowan and Grace MacGowan Cooke, L. C. Page &
Co., is a new version of the taming of a shrew, though in the case of
Diana Chaters, the cure is effected without the intervention of a
Petruchio.
This is the pith of the theme of the story, very briefly put, for, as
she is introduced to us in the opening chapters, she is, with all her
beauty, as hopeless a termagant as can well be conceived, and when she
bids us farewell at the end of the book, the transformation has been
made complete.
The book is filled with color and action, the background of which is
the rather motley life of colonial Georgia, or rather of the time
during which Georgia was being established as a colony for insolvent
debtors through the efforts of General Oglethorpe. The suspicions and
uneasiness existing in the midst of the heterogeneous population
attracted to the new colony, the constant state of alarm from the
threatened incursions by the Spanish from the South and the presence
of Indians and negroes, furnish plenty of material for an exciting
tale of which a high-spirited and refined young woman is the central
figure throughout. That she should suffer humiliations at which she
bitterly rebelled is not to be wondered at, and, in spite of her
arrogant pride, one cannot help sympathizing with her in her troubles
and rejoicing with her and with Robert Marshall in their reunion.
The material used in the book is peculiarly difficult to handle on
account of its complexity, but the authors are to be sincerely
congratulated on having constructed out of it a very interesting and
coherent tale.
* * * * *
Mr. Harris Dickson has furnished another demonstration of the fact
that a man can do two things--though, perhaps, not at the same
time--and do them well. It is safe to assume that his professional
life has been a busy one, for a lawyer who attains a judicial
distinction, as a rule, has to work hard, but in spite of it he has
found time to write an exceedingly good story.
"The Ravanels," published by Lippincott, is a characteristically
Southern tale; Southern in setting, in character and in action.
Whether justly or not--probably not--it is more or less widely
accepted as a fact that less regard is shown for the value of human
life in the South than in the East, and it may reasonably be said that
a defect in Mr. Dickson's story is that, in some measure, it tends to
give color to this opinion, for its theme deals chiefly with one of
the feuds of which we read so much.
Stephen Ravanel, the hero and a scion of a distinguished Southern
family, grows up cherishing a bitter resentment against his father's
murderer, Powhatan Rudd, who has escaped punishment for the crime. His
earliest recollection is that of his dead father, whose body is shown
to him by his aunt.
After he has reached manhood, the spirit of revenge still alive, Rudd
is killed under circumstances which point to Stephen as the slayer. It
is the trial of the young man on the charge of murder that supplies a
most exciting and dramatic episode in the story, and it is extremely
well done, for all the essential particulars are produced without
undue emphasis.
There is, of course, a love story, a very attractive and convincing
one, of which the heroine, Mercia Grayson, is a characteristically
fascinating Southern girl. It is a tale of which the author may well
feel proud to have written.
Transcriber's Notes
The Contents list was added.
jubilant over my narrow esscape. [changed to escape]
sheen upon her petal-like skin, the mys-mystery [changed to mystery]
He had been an obstinate child, alwas [changed to always]
"Me?" reutrned [changed to returned] Joe, with a laugh.
think he [changed to she] wasn't planning it all ever
met here [changed to her] there at Lindale.
this interruption of your fete, [changed to fete] but,
the reckless, the prodigal and the _declasse_. [changed to declasse]