The age-herald., 1900-04-22

i primarily because he is so young and has given such desided promise of splendid workgfn the future. He lives at present on large estate in Surrey, England, and has just completed volume called wounds in the Rain" While this sinister title is said to stand for some of this | brilliant but cratic writer's most vigor- our and graphic work, certain critic has Iacetlously remarked that it is to be hoped me author will change the title. As Crane rhymes with rain, the opportunity to make fun Is too obvious to be withstood.
 We are all interested in When Knight hood Was in Flower" and also in the personality of the author It is said that MT Major has gone to England to arrange Tor the English dramatic rights of his nance, and at the same time to obtain ad ditiona1 material for a historical novel of English life, which he has had in prepa- ration for several years. No doubt read CTS Of this perfectly charming book, When Knighthood Was in Flower" would, if consulted on the subject, prefer the beautiful spiritual quality of this work and the charm of the story to an elabor- ate and accurate setting of the forthcom- ing work It is to be feared that too great attention to what might be called the me- chanical part of the work will detract from those characteristics of MT. Majors work which made the success and popularity of his first book.
 Stanley Weymans latest book will be published this month Readers and admir- CTS know him best as a writer of histori- | cal romance of the medieval period, when adventurers won their fortunes by their | swords. His new work, entitled Sophia" departs from this vein and treats of the period of Queen Anne of England. While the main interest is of a different sort there is nevertheless no lack of adventure, and will no doubt prove as interesting reading as his former work. Sophia" is novel of character as well plot; the 1 hero is a woman, and is most interest i ing creation as she develops from a sen- timental girl into woman of ready wits and noble nature.
 Several interesting April books are
 Robert Tournay" romance of the French Revolution by William Page. The story is full of incidents and is told very effectively. Another book which will be Of special interest to large class of read CTS is "The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War" by John Fiske. It gives an exceed ingly clear and interesting account of the course Nnd significant events of the war for the Union in the valley of the Missis- sippi. Among its nine chapters are treated the navy and New Orleans the Vicksburg problem, the fall of Vicksburg, Chicka- mauga, Chattanooga and Nashville.
 Knights in Fustian'' is a charming love
 
 a spirited manner the operations of the Knights of the Golden Circle, in Indiana, during the Civil war. Governor Morton and others figure in the sketch.
 MT Jack London contributes the first work from Alaska to the literature of fc- tion in his '"The Son of the Wolf" Here, again, we see the inevitable animal hero creeping into our fiction, as was mention ed in these columns recently. The stories are based upon MT. London's experience and observations in that region, and con- tain vivid pictures of life in the vicinity of the Yukon, with its privations, hardships, heroisms and romance.
 An editorial in a recent New York paper headed Meaningless Illustrations" will, l am sure, find response in many a read CT. For awhile the reading public de- manded that the scenes of a story and it's personages be set before them in such a manner that through the eye they could obtain an aecudate conception of the au- thor's ideas. But all that has passed and today 1t is just a little bit hard to say whether we glad or sorry to hear that a favorte volume is to appear in an illus trated edition. There is no question but that we have good illustrators for the fine work appearing from month to months in our magazines proves this. But in reading really good novel or a book of fine essays when the authors lords have brought up
 
 to turn to a page only to be confronted by a commonplace or meaningless illustration. Tn the editorial mentioned the author stated that "one strong, we'll written novel of the present season is absolutely weak ened by it's illustrations-mer carica- tures" If the editor has not here in mind "To Have and to Hold his words well ap- ply tothis work with equal emphasis and truth. Has any one read "To Have and to Hold and failed to be disappointed in the illustrations. They are in very truth "caricatures," and the reader has no pa- tience with them. Miss Johnstons vivid, graphic work needs no visual work to sup plement the impressions made by her DOW erful text; and certainly in this instance If in no other the book needs no illustra- tons and would have been stronger with out them.
 MT. George Moore, who will be remem- bered as the author of Esther Waters has written a play which has also been pub lished as a book. The play is a curious instance of the folly of pushing theories to an extreme. It is intended to illustrated by alegory the financial relations of Eng land and Ireland MT. Moore, says Will land and Ireland. Mrs. Moore, says Will jam l.. Alden, might as we'll have attempt ed to dramatize the multiplication table or the binomial theorem. He might have written play that would have lived but he has genius for adopting wrong liter ary theories and adhering to them.
 
 An interesting item was found in the current number of The Bookman. The ed- itor says: Evidently the iron industry is not the only profitable employment in Birmingham, Ala, for the sales of Miss Johnston's new book advance so rapidly that any figures by which they are num- bered grow obsolete and incomplete within a week." Nothing succeeds like success. A certain literary critic wrote recently about the demand at present on the part of the reading public for happiness and marriage bells'' at the conclusion of our romances, and adds in very droll way that when a man has established his position he can write what he chooses. New writers, he adds, would not be per- mitted to do things which Hardy and Meredith can do. Even Kipling when be wrote "The Light That Failed'' had to end the book with a marriage, though he afterward put forth an edition which end- ed as art demanded that it should end. It will be remembered that the only criticism made upon Prisoners of Hope' was the .I,N. Thof