Smyrna times., 1866-12-19
Novels-Now- Days.
BY CELIA LOGAN.


" new sett of novel-writers has sprung up, and
by their marked ability have seized upon the
affections OF the "hght-literary" public; fore
most among them are Wikie Collins, Miss
Braddon, Mrs. Henry Wood, Whyte Melville,
Guy Livingston, Shirley Brooks, Edmund
Yates and "Onida." These famous writers
hrve created taste for sickening depravity in
ladies in the higher walks of life, and, since
the brilliant success of East Lynne" it has
grown to an alarming and repulsive extent.
According to the above-named officers, the
nineteenth century has given birth to a new
style Of woman or at least if our ancestors had
similar being among them, that they had the
decency to keep their wives faults to them
selves, and never wrote books exposing them.
Woman, instead of being the gentle, perfect
creature, the almost angel we had imagined
her to be the victim of cruel man, deserted and
deceived (fOr education and abandonment were
the tav0nte themes of old-time authors), is
quite different parsonage. Man is now the
gulleless betrayed one woman is the tempter,
and Is lntultively and practically versed in the
darkest and most repulslve forms of guilt.
10 write thrilling novel for the present day
one need have but four important characters
TWO ladles-One murderesS, the other a nam
by-pamby miss well-studied in all domestic de-
tails two conference.-the first the husband,
the second the halt-reluctant detector of the
crimes of the sweet-faced, low-voiced, golden
| haired murderess for so much has it become
the fashion for all the guilty heroiues of our
sensation novels to have red hair, that any
right minded woman who has locks of that
hitherto detested shade will soon be forced to
dye them, lest their color will lead to the be-
llet that she Is either q vagrant, higamist OF
| a pOisoner.
In confirmation of the theory lately set forth
in novels, that all light-hared women are in
tultlvely bad, it is a wonder that none of our
writer's have reproduced Lucretia Borgia, who
had dust-colored hair.
Dumas, in his Three Guardsmen," intro
duced the fashion for golden-haired wretches
in good society to entrap unsuspecting, sus-
cepube men, into marrying them in numbers
Then followed East Lynne, Lady Audley' 5
Secret, ," . Aurora Floyd" and many Others
all OF them founded on the beauty, the dupli-
city and the depravity Of the heroine. They
all have two husbands the first conveniently
dlsposlng of himself in time for the lady to ac-
cept more eligible offer. Husband Number
One invariably makes his temperance at the
most lnopportune moment and if the wife can
not get him out of the way by dropping him
down well, or by poisoning him, or by some
other fashionable and innocent means, she
elOpes with him after first confding to husband
Number Two her shame less iniquity, and en-
deavorlng to console him by the assurance that
he Is much better off without her; he fails to
be convinced OF this, in virtue Of his great and
lasting love for her, which would restore her to
her place In his heart and house were she even
more vile than she owns to being
In the dilemma which would arise in the
event OF both husbands claiming the same very
/ W0rf blaca rutfo oh
tunely dies OF galloping consumption, which
invariably sets in at the moment when husband
Number Two finds how convenient Miss Nam
by-pamby is to have in the house to menL
| socks, order dinners, mind baby by wife First
and to nurse him through the bad spell of sick
ness he had when that lady went off with hus
band Number One.
1t is very strange that such models of faith
tul love, OF manly courage and devotion, o.
honesty, simplicity and unsuspecting innocence
as the nOvelhero and husband, can SO readil,
console themselves for the first wifes derelic
tons by taking second and notwithstanding
Miss Namby-pamby is model Of propriety
housekeeping and otherwise, she seems alway
to De In love with another woman's husband
and jumps at his first offer, Tilted, widowed
poisoned, or half-sufoeated though he may be
1t Is useless to contend that such novels a
| Wy VIE, tWn
not My Sister-in-law, Miss Edwards ?''
''Sans Merci, o" Aurora Floyd" mo Name,
Land at Last" &C., g., are not powerful
written, and have sustained interest? Br
more impossible, extravagant and revoltin
, books one could hardly read. Perhaps th
most repulsive and reprehensible of all is til
! hrst-named. The heroine, Miss Guilt--reC
haired, handsome, subtle, refined, educate
b and seductlve--seems monstrous anomaly
No such beautiful fend, let us hope, coul
! ever have penetrated into respectable circles
prey on such weak, wavering and superstition
fools as Nlidwinter; indeed, with the excel
: ton of Pedgift, Sr., there don't seem to hay
been single soul in the whole book who ha
grain OF common sense, beginning with Mi,
winter father-who was idiot enough to con
|; init murder and then confess it, simply,
: would seem, in order to render his SON miser
bic for life, because of something done befo
he was born-down to insane old Eastwood.
1t seems highly improbable that such a WON;
: as Miss Guilt could have felt one spark of To-
for such toy in her hands as Midwinter.
would be far more in consonance with such
! character to have let him sufocate in the fun
!, of the purple flash, than to have slipped In
v the room and die in his stead. Such creatur
:. (let us pray that none such exist except in t
i sensational-noveists' brainl are not fond
z making way with themselves.
1t must be because it is so original. and
9. at variance with her preconceived notions a
v experience of woman, that the novel has me
3 popularity which depicts her as q beautii
:. bigamist, an unnatural mother, calm, cole
d ted impostor, walking lie, red-handed po
lis oner IN the night, entrapping men into mail
ly ing for the purpose of numbering thon, a
u getting their money or widows dover, If
,ss the novel women are bad, all the men 9
ID. weak; in fact, the characteristic OF the sea
ar have changed; women are portrayed with
worst passions of men, and men with all
love, tenderness and fidelity of women.
strangely happens, too, that the ladies
matter is found as in "IIand at Last" dyi
OF starvation in the streets) have always bC
~ used to the best society, have all the mod
LL accomplishments, save and except that
housekeeping and taking care of their ohiId
er- that is left to Miss Namby.pamby. in VIII
lip cold excellence the novelist fails TO excite
M interest in the least, but centres it. desnite
unnatural crimes, in the beautiful eolden-b;
Ca ed bigamist. In order to make second v
unnecessary and the picture of thn wron,