The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-04-01
The new PUBLICATIONS.
SOME OF THE LATEST BOOKS OF
THE SEASON.
seThe Marriage of William Ashe," by
Mrs. Humphrey ward-SOme of the
Forthcoming New Books OF Note.

Forthcoming New Books OF Note
To her long list of novels Mrs Hum
phrey Ward has added what by most
readers will be considered her most
brilliant effort, 1.-THE Marriage of Will
liam Ashe." 1t is a story of English
upper class life, and of English politics
in the Victorian era, and is story of
artistic perfection, dramatic interest,
vital character drawing and mastery
achievement. A new novel by Miss
Ward is always one of the leading
events, and The Marriage of William
Ashe" is most probably the greatest
work of fiction of the year. Mrs.
Wards Lady Roses Daughter was
founded on the real life of Julie de Les
pinasse. THE Marriage of William
Ashe' is the real life story of Lady
Caroline Lamb (wife of William Lamb,
afterward Lord Melbourne) sufficiently
adapted to bring it forward a few de-
eades from the Byronic period. Kitty
Ashe is Lady Caroline, William Ashe
Ii william Lamb. Mary Lyster
Is LEl6 MISS VI DJ . oAAAAeP
py union. Lady Tranmore is drawn
from the real Lady Melbourne and i'll
Godfrey Cliffe is an elaborated study
of Byron himself. In her story Mrs.
Ward makes direct references to both
Melbourne and Lady Caroline, and in
his disposition and his views Ashe IS
more than once likened to Lord Mel
bourne. Incidents in the life of Lady
Caroline Lamb are brought into, woven
into, the story. So of incidents as re-
CARDS Lady Caroline and Lord Byron
AS is well said of Lady Kitty and
William Ashe: ''The married life of
William Ashe and Lady Kitty is sue
cession Of storm, followed by lovely
calm. Kitty has genius for doing the
daring, the audacious, always the I'M
conventional. She is hardly the wife
for a public man. But her penitence is
always SO pretty, it seems to pay for
her perversities. After she has been
particularly exasperating. Ashe will
usually wake up to find her curled up
on the floor beside his bed, With one
soft, wet cheek resting on his hand. Is
1t any wonder the other hand of Will
liam Ashe always reaches out for the
little blonde head? Ashes friends
have always said he is too easy-going'
Is too much inclined to carry difficult
situation off with laugh. Especially
where Kitty is concerned, it is believed
he should cultivate more of the "saeva
Indignation But, of course, it is just
where Kitty is concerned Ashe Is least
severe He generally ends up, by for
giving and laughing with her over
her follies, even when-to spite Mary
Lyster-she carries her Irritation with
Godfrey Cliffe to scandalous limits. So,
when Kitty secretly writes book car
featuring the prime minister, exposing
state secrets, playing the unthinkable
fool, In short, and placing Ashe in an
embarrassing and uncomfortable posi-
tions she believes this, too, will be for
given, and in the end Ashe will laugh
and be proud of her cleverness. But he
doesn't laugh this time. Kitty has
cheated Mary Lyslter of Godfrey Cliffe,
and lit is finally Mary LISTERS curious
and paradoxical revenge to be the
means Of Kitty's going off with Clffe;
TO bring about, in short, the end of Kit
ty. For, after a mad, romantic journey
to the Balkans, where Cliffe takes up
the cause of the insurgent Bosnians,
there Is little more to be told of Lady
Kitty" s&
Kitty dominates the book. Wilful
droll, vivacious, imperious, unyielding,
dominating, bewitching, petite, tender,
delicate, frivolous and uncertain; now
a creature most engaging, now exasper
atingly wilful and rebellious; a crea-
ture of smiles and tears, she Is most
interesting character and a character
Mrs. Ward has drawn with no uncer'
tain touches. Lady Kitty is a beguil-
ing, brilliant figure. palpably fascina-
ting and alive. She flashes in and out
of the episodes in the book, a creature
OF moods, gay, defiant, beguilingly fem
mine, and in spite of her caprices and
her wilfulness, a pathetic little figure
haunted by the fear of lurking insanity.
She is the victim of hereditary tenden-
cies, thrown into an environment that
fostered rather than restrained them.
Mrs. Wards hero, William Ashe, by
his marriage with the volatile Kitty
Bristol, places himself at the mercy OF
all the gods who preside over the des-
TIMES of public men, and, through her
they play him thousand and one
tricks in which frivolity and thought
lessness all too frequently wear the
mark Of malice. Notwithstanding their
love for each other, the wife's irrespon
sibIe conduct draws them further and
further apart, until, by playing with
the fire of another mans love, she finds
herself, partly through her own rash
ness and partly through the machina
tions Of a revengeful woman, the vic
tim and plaything of an artificial desti
ny. 1t is, perhaps, needless to say that
forgiveness and death end her career
Mr.. Ashe is an admirable person, one
of those fine, strong, unexcitable mag
unanimous Englisihmen with whom Mrs
Ward is so we'll acquainted and who
serve as her literary ideals. He Is a
woman's hero, ever yielding, tender
strong, gracious and forbearing and OF
plying tenderness to the capricious
kitty even in her widest moments and
escapades,-a much enduring, long-suf.
fering man-enduring and long suffer-
ing even when he finds his high politi-
cal aspirations and hopes blasted wher
near triton, by his adorable, perverse
Iyit+y Where Kittv's character repelS