Sunday morning globe., 1901-10-20

Now OTIS 900 HNrr|N|IIItn ... 5000. ....' '
society Society BOO Washington W.f.eeNen
mor. artificial chan 100 Sew Nu.a does not
gNu.ula a'i that are not excessively rich. so
Chat offers SOME of do. elements W.Nth
the foreign uoeeli-t- find 800 London 0f Paris.
society novel cannot N. written oi
Cu.wuuu. or Detroit of -.u Francisco OF
Chicago though -h. -uHi.. author ". me
CheyHIicr p.u,i.uN.w uIe tried 10 100
vain for such 70 novel mus. not be merely
local of provincial. I...- .. ... provinces
can u.ver N. fashionable. H lH. sens 900
which move. of London Paris Washing
tom ar EeN York eH1 .. l.- .'auna... There
ts uNg..'uu. society 100 "..w.Ha tm Isug
Nud. 300 Tours. Eur.. In Philadelphia. 300
Richmond huta society uH".. lo Ne suc-
cg--.u. mu-. NOT concern tl.t with tAe
loel. .r r...in..a' rHu.. II- seen. must be
laid u city tF. society oi which i- ace
suowIaHg.l la o.. tine most representative,
tna mos, fashionable tUe most elegant iu
the w.aI. country Vienna -tluds ior this
800 Austria. Berlin 100 Germany ST. Peters
burg .u Russia. and Wa-hus.on-thoush
.ut-.0. ui .Ga season tE. most proE.uc 1l of
etHe--heEiu- tu stand tor itiu the United
States A society novel then must arise
from artificial conventions and conditions,
t must have fixed background due Co
NOR. nr less a.-tocH.ic sentiment and the
conditions mu-t have such character that
they eluua, De called local in the pro.
yuc.a. sense. IH a word, they must 300 the
novel; De near ,o the conditions That make
e,egau. society 800 all tine great ceuters of
civilizations
james, "Bo-toulus, saturated with the
20 ID f.H
CawfHrls Katharine Iauleriale' would
be. if Mr. Crawford knew New York Mr.
H1weuss u0vel--impouant as they are
are local aud ont of society. Mrs Gertrude
Athert0u'- California novels give pictures
of "a semi-blrbarous life. Christian Reid.s
have the old Southern tone of life that is
past, lluviers short stories, like In ST.
Peters Set give the provincial point Of
view admirably. which might be one quality
iu a novel of society but which would have
no other value. Miss Bouner's Hard Pam
is picture of local society IN state of
transition, and this may be said, too, of the
stories of Octave Thauet
The French novels of high life--those of
Octave Feuillet offer the best examples for
our purposes-are strictly Partisan, even
when the scene changes 70 old chateaux in
Dauphiuy or gay villas at Biarritz. Paris,
In the background offers all the pleasure,
all the intellectually Of life. And the
charm of Gyp-whom I mention with an
apology-is that she, even in the provinces,
is thoroughly Partisan. In the French or
English novels you cannot escape Paris or
London In ours as a rule, the capital or
the metropolis is only an incident-the
author basks In the light of any city he
loves
The number of local centers in the United
States, each with its conditions and points
OF view have not encouraged the production
Of good society novels. Makers of social
usage differ in all their centers. Even at
Newport, a woman decides that she must
be Mrs Jones rather than Mrs John
Jones by the might of her will In a fixed
society precedence is arranged. You know
that Gladys Duchess Of Barchester is not
the reigniug duchess. Even at Newport a
marquise of undoubted position will pre-.
cede Mrs. Anybody, If Mrs. Anybody is not
the guest of honor. Society in transition is
a difficult subject for the novelist who
would avoid sarcasm. in fact, societv--ac-
kuowledged society IN the English or
French seuse-canuot be founded merely
on money dlA tllal u AlG ANAnbA why a'AAof
Burton Harrison has produced only one
good society uovel-there was material only
for one.
Washington offers am excellent field but
an attempts SO far 20 reap IL have been un-
successful Mrs. Dahgreu knew her so-
ciety we'll but in "a Washington Winter
She made O. caricature because she was,
above all, a romauticist Mrs Burnetts
Through One Administration was a sur
face picture-with none of the sincerity Of
THAT Lass of Lowrie's' Mrs Gertrude
Athcrtons Senator North Is an impress
siouist view of a social condition which Is
not typical, rather brutally untrue. The
latest society novel, Maurice Lows "Su-
preme Surrender. " has Washington society
as background It is brilliantly written
but 1t Is more like the work Of a brilliant
social student who has turned his reflections
into conversations than of an author who
paints life as IL is. II is not rcdolent of the
atmosphere of Washington. Senator
Laugh,ou is cut from the same block from
which Mrs. Atherton carved Senator North.
There is no strong typical character; and
yet all the persons ia the book might easily
Hvciu Washington. The power of rrollope,
whose taIe-of fashionable life are admir-
able. might have viyi6cd it. but before we
lay the blame of failure upon Maurice Low
Supreme Surrender. letus decide whether
conditions are NOT lacking for the fulfill
meut of the American pubHc's expectation
when .l asks for a typical society novel
MAURICE FRANCIS EGAN.