New-York tribune., 1902-08-16
THREE NOVELS.
WAR IN AMERICA AND A PRIVATE FEUD
ABROAD.

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NONE But THE BRAVE BRyg Ma By EaT6len Z Go sears
12mo PIP Vi, 5e9 Dood Meau {" "
,b,r D[Ba Gofah. Emo, pp 3l2 Harper Bros
CASTLE CRANEYCROw. By George Barr Ms-
Cutcheon. 12mo. pp. 3sl chicago f1eiOe'
stone & co,
Mr.. Sears is unconventional IN one resp a a.
least He does not wait until the END Oh LIS
novel 10 marry the hero and the heroine thereoi-
He has them safely made man and wife In MS
third chapter while they are still total strahg-
ars o,d renuire 10 be brought UP 70 the cere-
Yoonv at the point of pistol Obviously there
are the beginnings here for spirited narrative
and None but the Brave does not disappoint
~ II is q story Of the American Revolution,
and as usual hero and heroine are on opposite
sides in the conflict They are brought toge'her
fv accident on a lonely road at night III 'ie
tavern which presently witnesses thelr lhdI
riage the young soldier about whom the acuoh
chiefly revolves engaged in a bloody DUEL anu
not long after. having bestowed In sa1etg MS
unsought spouse, he overhears a nlonleh'o"s
conversation between Andre and Arnold, ana
forthwith embarks upon series OF thrlllihs
adventures. He and two friends are dispatched
nv Washington on the track Of a spy. who is
berraving both the American and the British
armies Before their purpose is accomplished
he masses through grave perils. only 10 be
taken prisoner at last, and TO lie disabled oy an
1igly wound The part played by his wife While
his enterprise is going forward, out Of consid-
Grafton for the reader, we leave undescrihed. 1t
is sufficient to say that this is a wholesome
and well told story, forming an excellent addi-
ton 10 the mass of fiction which has been &C
cur1llla ting so rapidly of late around the Revo-
.utionary period.
The author of The Debatable Land" is also
unconventional. and he is so not in one aspect OF
his story alone but from beginning to end. He
treats of the Civil War. giving us, before he
reaches a battlefield. some pleasant glimpses OF
81 New-England neighborhood. There he pro
vides his heroine with a stalwart and masterful
lover but she is herself only half convinced
that she wants him. if. indeed, she gives any
serious thought to the matter at all. and her
friends are mostly certain that they don't
want the two 10 marry. Then there appears
1Ir,on the scene the inevitable rival, a musician
with rather whimsical nature Mr- Cotton, for
his own mart. rather likes a whimsical vein.
and cuItiyates 1t assiduously in this book Ihe
rivalry between Morgan Map and Gard Wind
han, follows course differing decidedly from
that to which are accustomed in similar
situations in the average novel The war is
brought into the book. and that. too, is treated
with 4 fresh touch Mr.. Cotton has not yet got
his whimsicality well in hand and his novel
Is. therefore. not quote so strong in construc-
tion as we would like 1t 10 be. But we ap-
preciate the faint flavor of originality COM
municated to The Debatable Land there are
some really engaging characters in il, and we
find the book. when all is said. readable and
pleasing This is by the way. the twelfth and
last volume in the American Novel" series.
Castle Craneycrow' opens with the alarming
hat cba Of Mr.
Philip Quentin that he first lectured his servant
On the superiority Of mind over matter, and then
took him cheerfully by the throat and threw
MIN into far corner of the room On the next
page we learn that Mr.. Quentin first made the
acquaintance of this retainer of his when Mas
ter Turk as he calls him. was engaged in burg
iarizing his apartment. The readers may well
wonder what is TO come after such an introduc-
ton. All manner Of impossible things are to
come. The scene is shifted to England. where
The hero discovers a suspected murderer in the
person OF the Italian prince who is about TO
marry q boyish flame of his own. Again the
scene is shifted this time to Paris. and, little
later, TO Belgium. Mr.. Quentin. in the mean
time. falls in love all over again with Miss
Dorothy Garrison. and makes up his mind TO
save her from the clutches Of her handsome
Italian. Incidentally, Of course. he means TO
marry the lady himself. and she. equally, of
course does everything that she can-in the
approved style Of obstinate, though bewitching,
nerOines in fction-to put the American in peril
Of his life and make him bitterly unhappy. IN
fortunately. Mr.. McCutcheon does not stop at
absurdity in his heroine's conduct, but goes on
to involve every one in the tale in altogether
Incredible situations Castle Craneycrow'' is
meant 10 be. We suppose, romance of the
Zenda sort, but il is not in the least romantic
1t is. instead, q piece of crude sensationalisrn
full Of cheap eXaggeration and altogether dis
appointing