The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-18
Minor Fiction.

I
In Hearts Importunate, by Evelyn
| Dickinson, new field of fiction has been
| opened, inssmuch as the scene is laid in
New South Wales. No novelist has hith-
erto attempted TO handle the life of the
Bush" in this particular region. but it
| seems not TO be very different from that
of Victoria, Queensland. and the other
! Australian States which have been de
scribed in fiction. In fact. the local color
is very unobtrusive. the main interest of
the story being emotional.
The heroine Avis Fletcher. is strik-
ingly beautiful maiden of the Diana type,
who. We are given to understand has left
England on account of a scandalous love
affair When the story opens she has
been living in retirement for seven or eight
years in the care of friends of her moth
or. Then appears on the scene Ralph Ha-
zell. eX-otficer OF the British Army. anna
teur Bushman. and hateT of women be
cause one woman had played him false.
The emotional crisis is developed from the
fact that Avis. hating men on general
principles. and HAZEL, distressing all
women. are still drawn together by an
imperative affinity between their two ma
lures, which is stronger than the effects
of their separate personal experiences The
teresting. The story meanders along for
several chapters. involving the chastise-
ment of a mean little rat of peasant who
attempts to spread Avis story abroad IN
Sydney society, and We are finally informed
that the love affair was not so very scan
dalous, after all This. considering the
intensity of feeling and violence of action
found in previous chapters is rather in the
nature OF an anti-climax. Another denoue-
ment might have been more sensational,
and would no doubt have been more diff
cult to manage but il would have been
more in keeping with the general character
Coz
"a Maker OF Nations by Guy Boothby
! IS a story OF some adventures and "A South
American Republic. II has Mr.. Boothbys
usual vigor of action and originality %
conception, but lacks the gruesOme inter
est of "Pharos the Egyptian" when is
Internationally the authors high water
mark thus far The hero, who bears the
somewhat dime novelist name of Dick
burlington is engaged by Jew. named
Spielmann, TO assist in getting up revo-
luton in a small South American country
which has enjoyed peace and prosperity
for some years. Others associated i'll the
scheme are a pretty American adventures
twho is in love with Dick) and soldier OF
fortune, named MacCartney. besides yari-
Gus revolutionists of native manufacture
burlington and MacCartney, who nave
been engaged in this sort of thing for sew
eral years, enter into the scheme with
gusto, partly for the love of adventure ana
partly for the money there Is 10 be in IL
The course of events is considerably inter-
fered with by the fact that Dick promptly
proceeds TO fall in love with the daughter
ssn 10
the movement of his sword arm, and
eventually leads him To turn traitor tu
Spielmann and save the Republic, One ex-
poets the Jew TO take some horrible re-
venge, but-and this Is q sort of AMI
cllmay-he does nothing OF the kind hui
accepts defeat philosophicaily and sails
peacefully away TO find new fields Of