H. G. Dwight is the son of an American missionary to the Near East, and
lived for many years in Constantinople. Being compelled to leave Turkey
after her entrance into the war, he returned to the United States and is
now in the government service.
Mr. Dwight in this Stamboul romance has invested his scenes with the
languorous and mystical spirit of the orientalism in which his
characters so naturally move. We are here far away from the O. Henry
type of story, with its startling cleverness, crisp humor, and ingenious
surprise. We share instead the leisure and luxury of this eastern way of
living--felt all the more strongly because of the presence of the French
wife whose independent customs and bearing offend the servants of the
easy-going Pasha. The interest, however, is not confined to the
atmosphere. We are soon breathing the mystery of the kiosque--a mystery
which the author never fully solves, but leaves silently merged in the
intangible charm of the pervading orientalism.