Los Angeles herald., 1907-11-20
Between New Book Covers

ems" edited by Charles Welsh, and pub
llshcd by Small, Maynard & Co. Brief
editorial characterizations at the begin
ming of each extract, and the exact source
or sources Of each quotation at the end,
put one Immediately and intimately into
touch with the parsonage that is the sub
ject of Dickens vivid word pictures
The alphabetical arrangement by the
names of the characters enables one to
turn readily to any desired sketch, and
the convenient pocket size of the volume
permits the constant company of and fire.
quent meeting with ones old friends in
Dickens. The editor knows his Dickens
by heart, and no one could have more ex
celeltly chosen and grouped this assem-
blage of picturesque and entertaining
characters.
Gertrude Atherton has some natural af-
finity with journalism. Her grandfather
Stephen Franklin Horn-a native of Con,
necticut, and, later resident in Mexico--.
shortly after he settled in California
founded the Golden Era, the first
newspaper in San Francisco Mrs. Ath-
erton's first printed story was published
in newspaper; not, however the Era
but in the San Francisco Argonaut The
press of this country furnished almost
the first personal recognition Mrs. Atber.
ton received on this side of the water bv
TAKING issue WIN great many of her
extreme If brilliant views. "Ancestors :,
her latest novel-published by the Har.
pers only few weeks ago-with it's vivid
Anglo-American portraiture has alread,.
lent several pointed paragraphs to the
newspapers. Frequently the writer her.
self Will pick up newspaper to find that
she is unexpectedly in print The reason
probably is that her independence of mind
and incision of phrase make. Mrs. Atber-
ton almost as quotable as her books.
Under the curious title, "The Dancipe
Mouse" the Macmillan company is prb
llShlng the results of a remarkable psv.
Geological and physiological study carried
on by Dr. Robert M. Yerkes of Harvard
The subject of this study is the so-caIled
dancing mouse which is found in China
ana Japan, an animal which goes through
series of movements, whirllng and cir
cling, which have all the appearances of
calculated dancing. For the study of
hereditary tendencies and the relations
OF anatomical structure to intelligence
this animal is an instrument ready made
for the psychologist, and DR.. Yerkes'
careful and exhaustive study has been
pronounced of the utmost scientific value.
The book Is the first of a series of works
on animal Behavior
Marion Crawford is known to be a
methodical worker in the actual pro-
cesses of composition, yet he is subject
to flashes of what may be called "in-
spfration" as much as other men. He
has confessed that the idea for his Christ
mas story, "The Little City of Hope"
which is to be published next month, came
to him in a way that had little enough
apparently to do with the story itself
When he was last in America he was
walking dau oil
with a friend when they came to an
abandoned farm on which was a rickety
cottage in the last stages of dilapidation.
suddenly shabby, disconsolate man
stepped out of the cottage door and stood
staring straight ahead of him. The little
picture suggested to Mr.. Crawford a sit-
uation out of which the story developed.
ana he was so pleased with the idea that
ne put aside all other work to complete
1t for publication this year.
No book of the season has compelled
MOI curiosity than 'The Convert" by
Elizabeth Robins, which is just out 1t
is story of the woman suffrage move
ment in England-perhaps the most spec
tacular episode in recent political history.
Miss Robins has seen the humor as we'll
as the grim earnestness of this move
ment, which she has dramatized with un-
usual Shili' L. ne ueScrlptiOn OF tne en-
counters between the "suffragettes" and
the London mob are racy of the streets:
but this is only one side of the story,
which deals also with a personal problem
of exceptional interest, depicting real
characters in the grip of an original and
absorbing plot. Readers of "A Dark
Lantern" will not need to be told that
Miss Robins knows her way through the
mazes of London society, and that her
characters are real people.