New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-09-21
Gbe Nen'Vork gribno1e
ILLUSTRATED SUPPLEMENT.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER q, 1902.

Tho publishing season will not be in full
ewing for several weeks to come but it is now
far enough advanced for some conclusions to De
drawn as to its probable character. FICTION, as
ALWAYS is conspicuous in the bundles OF ne"
hooks From the volumes in hand, ana 1roih
other accessible data we gather that the nuin-
nor of American workers in this field is increas-
ing, but that, happily, they are concerning
themselves more often, on the whole, with the
life around them than with past epochs The
historical novel seems to be losing its vogue.
S+orins of the Revolution and of the Civil War
are giving place to stories of business lie, OF
society and of politics. Business and politics
especially are appealing to our WRITER'S.
Whether this implies reaction after "hat MS
been a rotous carnival OF historical ro1iahce'
or an inevitable reflection OF recent conditions
in the life of the people, it is Idle CONJECTURE
H. f.c+ ranains Miscellaneous literature |
is perhaps less voIuminously represented among
the earlier publications of the season, but II Is
not by any means neglected. Interesting WORKS
on art. travel. history and literary topics have
already been received, and many more are
promised In general, we may say, the season
makes most suspicious start
When the budding essayist comes up to town
tn take the magazines by storm, and hnds him.
self at the end of a strenuous campaign WIN
his manuscripts still on his hands, he is apt 10
saw. among other bitter things, that the editors
are bypnotiZed by noted names. Il would IKE
70 know" he asks. with lofty scorn, "just why
q man is supposed to be competent to write On
literature or morals or education because as
statesman or financier or phanthroplst he mas
GOT himself in the public eye?' Now, what
1ye 1vould like to know is why literary men are
so often hypnotized by names, and assume that
q lannon's writer is always prodigy Of wisdom.
It is true that authors do not insist that the
leaders of their craft should dogmatize about
mechanics, say, and SO our parallel might at
first blush seem unfair; but it really holds goou,
for it is altogether possible that a great author
NAV 90 wrong even when dealing with things
in his own sphere. writer for 1.-The Fan
Mall MAGAZINE, went the other day to condole
with NJ Maeterlinck on the Introduction IN
London of ''Monna Wanna" the Belgian Shake
speare's latest production Abiding to the al
verse criticism passed on it by a certain SYM
nathizer with Mr. BEDFORD, the responsible
official he talked Of it nothing less than
an insult to the two greatest representatives |
of English literature, Mr. George Meredith ana
Mr. Swinburne," whose names appear at the
foot of the protest made against the interdlc-
tion Why is it an insult? Is Mr.. Meredith,
whose creative genius has been hampered all
his life long by his inability to exercise crit
cal supervision over his own TRANSACTIONS Win
the English language, SO that his best work IS
disfgured by mannerisms and vltlated by Oh
Securities to be erected into supreme judge
of what is right or wrong in dramatic literature:
Is Mr. Swinburne, who can be eloquent IN
eulogy and in condemnation, but who expresses
only his likes and dislikes, and in criticism,
seriously considered, is but child, to be placed
above us all simply because he wrote, long ago,
some musical verse!
The death of George Douglas Brown, the
young author Of "The House with the Green
Shutters" has provoked sad reflections on what
he might have done if he had lived 1t is I'M
possible not to sympathize with these refec-
TONS to a certain extent, at least. After read
ing 1.-The House with the Green Shutters one
could not hnin hnnino for more work from the