The Savannah morning news., 1902-10-20
BOOK NOTICES.

hlcnaru Gordon, by Alexander
Black, illustrated by Ernest Fuhr. La
throp Publishing Company, Boston.
Cloth $3.50, This is one of the strong
est novels Of the day. The plot is firm
and finely conceived. Its development
is superbly sustained to the very end.
The progress of the tale never halts,
never is illogical, never is infirm. 1t is
compelling, irresistible, forceful. The
scenes are laid in New York city, and
have to do with men and women of the
upper middle and higher classes of So
ciety, with a dash into Bohemia that is
refreshing and vivid The hero is
manly and virile. The heroine is
charming, lovable, thoroughly woman
ly, and essentially feminine. The book
is simply brilliant in its conversations.
1t sparkles with delicious humor and
fetching repartee.
"The Story of Little Nell" from 1.-THE
Old Curiosity Shop" of Charles Dick
ems. Illustrated by Etheldred B. Bar
ry. Dana, Estes & Company, publish
ers, Boston, Mass. Cloth, by mail, "a
cents. Little Nell is one of the best
loved children in literature. Her pa
thence and fortitude, and her heroic
devotion to the old man who is the
companion of her wanderings, have
endeared her to several generations OF
readers. This abridgment of Dickens
'Old Curiosity Shop is adapted espe-
ciaAy to the tastes of children. Elk
| cept in the case of necessary omis-
sions, the authors language has been
left practically unchanged. The editor
has made no effort to retain anything
more of the plot than relates strictly
to the history of Little Nell The
book should be regarded as an intro
duction to the "Old Curiosity Shop. -
rather than in any sense a substitute
for it. Children should certainly be
encouraged to share the enjoyment
which their elders find in standard
works of fiction, and there could hard
ly be better introduction to the mas
terpieces of the imagination than a
series of books like the Famous
Children of Literature in which the
simple stories which win and hold the
attention of child have been detach-
ed from their setting and presented in
plain, concise way.
1.-THE American Jewish Year Book,
1868. Oct. 2, 1902, to Sept. 81, 19os," ed
tied by Gyms Adler. Published by the
Jewish Publication Society of America,
Philadelphia. The merits of this work
are well understood and appreciated.
This volume deals particularly with
the Jews of Maryland, Commodore
Levy, and, generally with the Jews of
the United States. 1t contains great
deal of interesting and very valuable
information.
''Wonder-Box Tales" by Jean Inge-
low. Illustrated by Drantha w. Horne.
Dana Estes & Co.. publishers, Boston,
Mass. Cloth, so cents. Jean Ingelow
was perhaps most distinguished dur
ing her lifetime for writing poetry than
prose, yet she shares with Mrs. Ewing
the distinction of producing the, most
artistic tales for children of any recent
writer. After naming the books of
Grimm and Andersen, where can one
turn to find more charming fairy stories
than the Wonder-Box series of Miss
Ingelow? They are sound and healthy
in sentiment, filled with the interest of
rapid plot and wonderful adventures,
and as graceful in style as IL written
in fairyland itself. The five stories
contained in this book are: THE Ouphe
OF the Wood" 1.-THE Fairy Who Judged
Her Neighbors," THE Princes Dream"
THE Water Lily" and 1.-THE Lost
Wand" The opening story has enough
Of excitement to suit the most roman
TIC chlid, and contains also a fine NOR
al lesson, pronounced but unobstrusive.
There are ten full-page illustrations in
the book. from drawings by Diantha
w. Horne.
1.-THE Voyage of the Charlemange,"
by William o. Stoddard. Cloth, limo,
fully illustrated, net s1o0; by mail,
Slip. Dana Estes G. Co., publishers.
Boston, Mass. This is a boys story in
which a great, many things happen.
The bottom of the sea is secured for
strange monsters by a new sort of
electric searchlight; the ship on which
Tom Lane and his sister are voyaging
with the dear old wizard of a professor
is caught in a cyclone and a water
spout, and encounters a school of
whales; a heavy fog bank is dissipated,
and a huge iceberg melted down by
electric devices; dolphins and polar
bears are captured; and finally, to the
dismay of all, the terrific speed which
the electric ship is making is suddenly
exchanged for a motionless calm: they
are at the earth's magnetic centerI