Sentence Reviews
(Inclusion in this category does not preclude a more extended notice.)The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd, by D. H. Lawrence. [Mitchell Kennerley, New York.] A three-act drama, by a young English poet, that feels into new recesses of the problem of sex relationships. Clear thinking, acute analysis, and provocative criticisms of life make this a notable addition toThe Modern Drama Series.An Island Outpost, by Mary E. Waller. [Little, Brown and Company, Boston.] “I respect the clam,” says Miss Waller; “it has certain reserves.” She also says: “Liberty is the restraint of controlled intelligence,” and she tells us that a million ideas unloaded on an unwarned public will cause befogment of its reasoning powers. Miss Waller in herIsland Outposthas not shown the reserve of the clam, nor the restraint of controlled intelligence, but has unloaded her “million ideas on a million subjects unannounced and uncatalogued.” Socrates, Swedes, and Simians, Hull House and Helsingfors, Praxiteles and Plum Jelly, Clucking Hens and Chemistry, Philanthropic Frenzies, Psychiatry Astigmatic, Outlooks, and Intellectual Miasma overlap each other in “indecent haste”—and to cap all comes an analogy taken from old “turned carpets,” suggestive of prehistoric methods of sanitation to a mere “Westerner.”Gillespie, by J. MacDougall Hay. [George H. Doran Company, New York.] A big story of heroic Scotch life by a new writer who has tremendous power. It makes that kind of profound personal impressions which a well-bred man refuses to discuss.Songs and Poems, by Martin Schütze. [The Laurentian Publishers, Chicago.] The discriminating reader who is a bit wearied of the “free verse” of “free poets” will find refreshing contrast in this slender volume of Mr. Schütze. Here there is beauty combined with delicate craftsmanship; lines finely wrought, fresh rhythms, uncommon phrasing. The contents reveals a happy versatility: there are a variety of Songs, some Poems, Discourses, and Epigrams.When Love Flies Out o’ the Window, by Leonard Merrick. [Mitchell Kennerley, New York.] A pretty story of the love affair of a charming chorus girl and a novelist-journalist. It should make good late summer reading, for the route of true love is not over-smooth, and the end is happy. We recommend the earlier portion of the book as done in the inimitable Merrick fashion. It is rather too bad that this author’s sustained performances fall so far below his short stories.The Man and the Woman, by Arthur L. Salmon. [Forbes and Company, Chicago.] A comforting little volume for smug Victorian women of both sexes.Short Plays, by Mary Macmillan. [Stewart and Kidd Company, Cincinnati.] Ten short plays deftly done, and sufficiently varied in theme to meet the diverse demands of the woman’s club, the girls’ school, and the amateur dramatic society.English Drama of the Restoration and Eighteenth Century, by George Henry Nettleton. [The Macmillan Company, New York.] Interesting to academic students of the historical facts of the early periods of the modern English drama.Erna Vitek, by Alfred Kreymborg. [Albert and Charles Boni, New York.] This further enterprise of a new and daring publishing house is an attempt, and a promising one at that, at the naturalistic American novel. But it is only an attempt. Mr. Kreymborg’s style is marred by the very frequent use of journalese. He has an excellent plot, but the treatment has somewhat failed to do it justice. Also, it seems to us that the episode narrated in the book would have made a far better short story than a novel. Despite these defects of juvenility, the book gives promise of future work by this author that will surely count. Also one obtains a refreshing insight into the real New York Bohemia.A Stepdaughter of the Prairie, by Margaret Lynn. [The Macmillan Company, New York.] Vivid impressions of pioneer life in the Missouri Valley by a writer who knows the wide prairies of that region.Business: A Profession, by Louis D. Brandeis. [Small, Maynard and Company, Boston.] A book composed of the lectures, essays and discussions which gave rise to the efficiency idea in big business management. It belongs on the shelf with President Wilson’sThe New Freedom.London and Paris, by Prof. John C. Van Dyke. [Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York.] Two additions to theNew Guides to Old Masters Seriesthat point out to conventional visitors the things that they should see when they look at the pictures in the famous galleries of London and Paris.Letters from a Living Dead Man, dictated to Elsa Barker. [Mitchell Kennerley, New York.] Unimportant even if true, which they are alleged to be. Psychical researchers will salt this thing down with their “facts.”Where Rolls the Oregon, by Dallas Lore Sharp. [Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.] A group of delightful impressions of “the vast outdoors of Oregon” by an interpretative observer whose zestful phraseology is full of local atmosphere. A number of charming halftones are included.The Red Light of Mars, by George Bronson-Howard. [Mitchell Kennerley, New York.] This philosophical comedy in three acts, which adds creditable variety and interest toThe Modern Drama Series, will be staged this season. Being typically American in spirit, it lacks iron in the body of its thought.Bambi, by Marjorie Benton Cook. [Doubleday, Page and Company, New York.] “Bambi” is altogether delightful. After marrying a writer of impossible plays, she endeavors to support him and to teach him to support himself. She becomes an author, and with her delicious vanity, and knowledge of her ability to wind men around her tiny finger, uses her own fame as a lever to place her husband among the successful playwrights. This sprightly midget is one of the most lovable characters we have met in many moons.
(Inclusion in this category does not preclude a more extended notice.)
The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd, by D. H. Lawrence. [Mitchell Kennerley, New York.] A three-act drama, by a young English poet, that feels into new recesses of the problem of sex relationships. Clear thinking, acute analysis, and provocative criticisms of life make this a notable addition toThe Modern Drama Series.
An Island Outpost, by Mary E. Waller. [Little, Brown and Company, Boston.] “I respect the clam,” says Miss Waller; “it has certain reserves.” She also says: “Liberty is the restraint of controlled intelligence,” and she tells us that a million ideas unloaded on an unwarned public will cause befogment of its reasoning powers. Miss Waller in herIsland Outposthas not shown the reserve of the clam, nor the restraint of controlled intelligence, but has unloaded her “million ideas on a million subjects unannounced and uncatalogued.” Socrates, Swedes, and Simians, Hull House and Helsingfors, Praxiteles and Plum Jelly, Clucking Hens and Chemistry, Philanthropic Frenzies, Psychiatry Astigmatic, Outlooks, and Intellectual Miasma overlap each other in “indecent haste”—and to cap all comes an analogy taken from old “turned carpets,” suggestive of prehistoric methods of sanitation to a mere “Westerner.”
Gillespie, by J. MacDougall Hay. [George H. Doran Company, New York.] A big story of heroic Scotch life by a new writer who has tremendous power. It makes that kind of profound personal impressions which a well-bred man refuses to discuss.
Songs and Poems, by Martin Schütze. [The Laurentian Publishers, Chicago.] The discriminating reader who is a bit wearied of the “free verse” of “free poets” will find refreshing contrast in this slender volume of Mr. Schütze. Here there is beauty combined with delicate craftsmanship; lines finely wrought, fresh rhythms, uncommon phrasing. The contents reveals a happy versatility: there are a variety of Songs, some Poems, Discourses, and Epigrams.
When Love Flies Out o’ the Window, by Leonard Merrick. [Mitchell Kennerley, New York.] A pretty story of the love affair of a charming chorus girl and a novelist-journalist. It should make good late summer reading, for the route of true love is not over-smooth, and the end is happy. We recommend the earlier portion of the book as done in the inimitable Merrick fashion. It is rather too bad that this author’s sustained performances fall so far below his short stories.
The Man and the Woman, by Arthur L. Salmon. [Forbes and Company, Chicago.] A comforting little volume for smug Victorian women of both sexes.
Short Plays, by Mary Macmillan. [Stewart and Kidd Company, Cincinnati.] Ten short plays deftly done, and sufficiently varied in theme to meet the diverse demands of the woman’s club, the girls’ school, and the amateur dramatic society.
English Drama of the Restoration and Eighteenth Century, by George Henry Nettleton. [The Macmillan Company, New York.] Interesting to academic students of the historical facts of the early periods of the modern English drama.
Erna Vitek, by Alfred Kreymborg. [Albert and Charles Boni, New York.] This further enterprise of a new and daring publishing house is an attempt, and a promising one at that, at the naturalistic American novel. But it is only an attempt. Mr. Kreymborg’s style is marred by the very frequent use of journalese. He has an excellent plot, but the treatment has somewhat failed to do it justice. Also, it seems to us that the episode narrated in the book would have made a far better short story than a novel. Despite these defects of juvenility, the book gives promise of future work by this author that will surely count. Also one obtains a refreshing insight into the real New York Bohemia.
A Stepdaughter of the Prairie, by Margaret Lynn. [The Macmillan Company, New York.] Vivid impressions of pioneer life in the Missouri Valley by a writer who knows the wide prairies of that region.
Business: A Profession, by Louis D. Brandeis. [Small, Maynard and Company, Boston.] A book composed of the lectures, essays and discussions which gave rise to the efficiency idea in big business management. It belongs on the shelf with President Wilson’sThe New Freedom.
London and Paris, by Prof. John C. Van Dyke. [Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York.] Two additions to theNew Guides to Old Masters Seriesthat point out to conventional visitors the things that they should see when they look at the pictures in the famous galleries of London and Paris.
Letters from a Living Dead Man, dictated to Elsa Barker. [Mitchell Kennerley, New York.] Unimportant even if true, which they are alleged to be. Psychical researchers will salt this thing down with their “facts.”
Where Rolls the Oregon, by Dallas Lore Sharp. [Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.] A group of delightful impressions of “the vast outdoors of Oregon” by an interpretative observer whose zestful phraseology is full of local atmosphere. A number of charming halftones are included.
The Red Light of Mars, by George Bronson-Howard. [Mitchell Kennerley, New York.] This philosophical comedy in three acts, which adds creditable variety and interest toThe Modern Drama Series, will be staged this season. Being typically American in spirit, it lacks iron in the body of its thought.
Bambi, by Marjorie Benton Cook. [Doubleday, Page and Company, New York.] “Bambi” is altogether delightful. After marrying a writer of impossible plays, she endeavors to support him and to teach him to support himself. She becomes an author, and with her delicious vanity, and knowledge of her ability to wind men around her tiny finger, uses her own fame as a lever to place her husband among the successful playwrights. This sprightly midget is one of the most lovable characters we have met in many moons.