New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-09-07
NEW NOVELS.

c,r uoRcEsoNs. Bv Elizabeth stCddard ismo'
pp 27o. Cassell & Co.
ygE COUNTY. A Tale of Social Lie i-ho' pP'
GAG Harper q Brothers. .
.Tho Morcosonss even more than Mrs. Stoddards
thor novels. suggests consideration in regard to
ec,;on which has not been much discussed In
Al, this authors writings, and particularly IN TINS
bool n distinctive characteristic is the seml-oo-
scuritv in which the inner life Of all the dramaus
,ersonae- is wrapped. "The Morgesons' is thrown
into autohiographic form. The story is told by
roung woman Of interpretive disposition: Dut she
is continually perplexed both by her own ten
denotes and acts and by those of others NO meni-
har OF the Morgeson family understands the others'
gbe wife and mother is riddle TO her Children
.xbo i'm turn puzzle her; the father is mystery
20 wife and children alike, and the sisters are
strangers 10 one another. Now, while there can oe
no doubt that this difficulty of expression ana per
oeption is meant by the author to illustrate GER
tain psvchical pccularities appearing In Ne"'Ens'
land families the fact that precisely the s"ln'
feeling Of aloofness is thrown over nearly al 'h'
Ielationships in the story seems 10 suegesV ','''
Mre Stoddard. in endeavoring 10 perfect the
realism of her work. has been led to renect !" MI
,sgcs speccs of spiritual isolation which Is much
Dora General than might be suspected by those who
regard the average fiction of the period as mirror
that fiction has its laws and that these conlpei
certain exaggeration and artfciality for the SAKE
of birh relief and complete intelhglblhty' ouV
AIRS Stoddard and a few other independent Wrl'e'S
have done much toward showing that hel'hcr
cxaegpration nor artificiality is absolutely mus
pensable TO the creation of interest. These wIl~r'
have sought 10 represent life as IT actuailS 10
Human intercourse is full OF .mlsconcepuoh''"n'
painful mistakes and wrong judgments, le"OlHe =
wrong actions all growing out OF the ullhcui'S %
x.cogri5Sng the nature of the soul through the op
,olrinC medium of the body In truth men "i'
In and olyvavs cropinc and feeling after the TuIn
,bout one another, and the most experience" -
This kind of research are also the most cautious INV
hesitating. for they know best the dihcul'leS W
'd3vinotiop. Mrs Stoddard has put this perpieAi''
into her books. and the ehect Is CERTAIN 70
rnltar. but the general result Is 70
,,oicAtsr the interest and TO lmpaf1
c,rions fascination TO the STORIES
.,bicb unrou themselves with kind oil IRE
snopsibilitv as though unseen Fates were drec''hs
cvarvtbing and the visible actors were mere hcip
less Inarionettcs. The Morgesons is su""e''
powerful sombre piece of fiction declueuy
jpal in its art, and marked throughout oy d"
special aptitude for indirect and subtle
of character and inherited tendencies. MIS- o'ou-
cards style and methods are entirely her OWL
,od ,rhile il must be at once apparent lndt uf
diN3crltv of adapting her psychologist analysis 10
action generally would be practically lnsupelaoe'
,nas,uuch as special genius would be requisite u
sle avoidance of irritating Obscurity, II Is none
the less open to question whether her arU - HOO
3urdamentally superior 10 that winch AIMS aCpre-
xentipr every character in high relief ana WIN
motives. impulses, traits and tendencles dH uUS
labelled and clearly exhibited
7, The County, we have an anonymous novel
Inv a decidedly clever hand and not. We are III
,i;,od IN think. that of a novice. The story Is
of the fortunes of two Young girls who. allef
benp brought up as the daughters OF wealthy
man are suddenly thrown upon their own re-
sources. Both are "mondaines,' but one mas
heart while the other is equally VOID oil SehIi-
,ncnt and principle. The plot IS not particularly
,difvinc being occupied mostly with the struggles
nj the sisters to secure eligible husbands. ana
being filed with detailed descriptions OF those
nctty feminine intrigues which seem so momentous
70 the actors, and are so very little and trivial
The County is a womans novel, evidently, and
81 is very well written, brilliantly but AFTER
n pattern which is becoming not a little hack
ucyed. and on lines which represent "A somewhat
obsolete conservatism. After all. heroine who
,rarries a man She disliles and despiseS for the
sake of a luxurious home and who when a wife
comes pcrilously near elopement with her old
lover. is not of a kind TO compel the warmest
sympathy Her sister. who IS nalvely wicked. is
almost more attractive.