New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-04-13
FICTION
HISTORY. LOVEMAKING. RASCAL1TY AND
HORROR.

MARNA'S MUTINY. BY Mrs Hugh Fraser 12mo'
Up. ga Dodd Mead & Co.
THE ROMANCE OF A ROGUE. By Joseph W
stone & Co.
THE MAKING OF a sTATEsMAN. AND OF, 0TfE 1l
STORIES BY Joel Chandler Harris. limo, PIP
PAT. Mcclure, Phillips & co.
SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE BY Richard Harding
Davis PIaygoers' Edition. Emo. PIP. 5oi
Charles ScribnerS Sons.
THE CARISSIMA. BY Lucas Malet, New Edition
limo, PIP. 33i. Chicago: Herbert s Stone N 60
DR. Brady has written in "HohenZollern an
historical romance possessing unexpected meris-
We saw unexpected because in these days the
historical romance is nearly always oVerfur-
nished with accessories of a supposedly pictu-
rescue nature and is nearly always most uncon-
scionably long drawn out This book is not 100
heavily burdened with archaeological material,
and if is admirably brief Best of all, the author
has achieved a fresher more exhilaratlng at
mosphere, writes with more real energy anu
skill than we have hitherto observed in his pro-
auctions There are four important characters
in the story Frederick BarbaroSsa, two nopieS
who take it into their heads to defy him in a
critical moment, and the Countess Matilda with
whom the three are all in love. Hohenzoliern
is her own choice, but she is ward of Bar
bar0ssa's and her announcement of her love
only drives that mighty individual to actions
apparentlv destructive of everybody's happiness.
Then follow dramatic occurrences, through
which hero and heroine carry themselves with
splendid gallantry. The story ought to go Wen
on the stage. Its incidents are arranged with d
keen sense for dramatic effect Dr. Brady mas
invented some ra Their astonishing situations, but
he manages them with craft and at no time
does the action threaten to become fatty IN
credible Startling things happen, but they nap
pen, on the whole, naturally. The book is made
a nv he authors
discreet painting of his scene. His characters
are plausible and he has given them an equally
satisfactory background.
"Old Blackfriars'' is more to be commended
for its background, for its clever presentmert
of an historic time, than for its plot The latter
is romantic indeed, with sufficient sentiment,
fairly well exploited, and the reader cannot re
main altogether Indifferent to the love story
that goes forward in these pages But his pleas
ure will chiefly be found in the glimpses offered
him of London in the time of a great painter
and a most interesting king. The author has
taken great pains in the study of her authori-
ties. and her portrait of Van Dyck has reality
and charm. So likewise. have her sketches OF
the life in which he shared. pleasant well
written book this is With no fire of drama in
it, though here and there it is not without ami
nation it nevertheless is readable, and even
fingers little IN the memory. by virtue OF the
sweet and gentle spirit which pervades it
Mrs. Fraser's novel Of love. Irritation. earth
quakes and what not, in flowery Japan. is one
OF those stories Of which guess the
climax after reading the first ten fifteen
pages. And. like many such stories il has just
enough merit to keep the reader from putting it
down before he has reached the end. The hero
inc is the daughter of a Scandinavian consul in
a Japanese port. Her mutiny consists in throw
ing off her fathers authority when he insists
upon paying attentions to an modifying widow
Marina begins her campaign by going to bali
despite paternal orders and there. in dance
she cannons against her fate. which fate is. of
course, embodied in the person of a titled Brton
understanding. They fence with one another
through experiences often amusing enough
though the author rObs them of of thei:
agreeable significance by providing accom-
paniment of shabby intrigue Lord kilmoraCk
brings in his yacht to Japan i'll ed
company of friends, including a matchmaking
and her daughter Betty. The atmos-
phere of husband hunting does not go well with
the tone Of Marna's romance. though it must
be confessed that Mrs. Fraser has tried her best
to harmoniZe the warning elements, even at the
risk of occasional false touch in the portrait
Of her heroine. While the book is a little cheap
in places 1t is vvacious and amusing
The Romance of a Rogue" deals with two
blackiegs in America something over a hundred