New-York tribune., 1908-08-15
I Se,r Master of the Story Of Crime
and Mystery.

and Mystery.
Tak tMe5insrT Adventures OF Joseph Rouletabile.
ggDo-fe- BY CASTOR Leroux- 12mo pp. VI.
90 Brentsno's
sEDHPTLoN By Rene a s15n m snsefsd ass Gss-ey ey
scribner's Sons.
-r.r VIRGIN WIDOW. a Novel. By Randall
THE Er-ssriton I2mo. pp sos G w Dillingham;
Conapsny-
GREAT AMULET. BY Maud Diver limo.
m 1os John Lane Company
oUs. eF esvad dE Ms1aue h9sI eoGEI pns s i5o R0ns
% pS s4s The Mcclure Company.
-ET LURE OF THE MASK By Harold Ma Mac
snd Karl Anderson 12n1o. pp. 4ol The
Esofbs- Merrill Company
- ErcHARD EsCoMBE A Romance By
oiIx xaT Penbe-ton- 12uo. pp H s51 Harper
Z Bros
TIE FIVE KNOTS By Fred; n White nl1s-
-. -detective- story has become in recent
wars g kind OF literary staple but 1t is noto-
&c .hst the man who can write It with orig
.y,-v and power IS as is poet Since
=, o,d Caboriau we have had only one writer
--.-.h1- Of their standards Conan Doyle. But a
= ,-o-1isine candidate for honors IN this class
L.x s-isen in the person Of III CASTOR Leroux-
.--hs Mystery Of the Yellow Room" offers
-.z- sensation. The central figure. young Paris
a., reporter named JOSEPH Rouletabille. would
bsva been welcomed by Sherlock Holmes with
-es,ec1 Like the great British detective. he
b-3rss extraordinary powers OF inductve rea-
son,,s ~ bear upon his problems. and is dow
.-.s into the bargain with that curious instinct
a. .be detection Of crime which transforms the
,olicernan into the artist
The particular exploit TO which NJ. Leroux's
,,,,-,e is devoted is one which at the outset
--opld seem to be beyond the resources of even
: r1t-aculously gifted investigator 1t involves
..s solution Of Z profoundly mysterious crime
--,,--ed under the roof Of a French scientist
,,-.,z IN the country This gentleman. NJ
c..reerso- has his laboratory in q small pa
,pion. One Of the doors Of this room opens
.--o g bedroom used by his daughter To leave
.. she has 20 pass through the laboratory Her
.,,sIe window is guarded by iron bars There
,s bv the way. no fireplace in the bedroom
re,a ore night Mile. Stangerson goes TO bed.
,,,t4ns and boiling the door into the laboratory
--hs-e she has left her father and man ser
- the onIy other person who ever uses the
-,,on Suddenly the two men are alarmed
hv tbe sounds Of a desperate struggle IN the
--,rnz v-or7ar's room When at last they sue
c.Ad - breaking down the door she Is lying
,.rs dead n her own blood and there are OBJ
,.,.s a the room which could only have be-
1o,ve5 n c-fn7iral-yet Nile. Stangerson Is the
SHE person found in the yellow room! Since
her sssailant could not have forced his way
through the barred window and could not have
-ssse5 the men who broke down the door. ana
since walls. floor and ceiling reveal no secret
opening It is plain that the attempted murder
is euveloped in unprecedented mystery. Young
Rouletabilles soul Is infamed with ambition
r,---
hss he had an opportunity ike this one He
rs-s n work and al the end OF the book-not
bsfo-e-he tells you how this crime was com
-,i++a5 and names the criminal. The book is
absorbing II Leroux tells his story with a
cieve-ness exactly suited To his theme He
inspires confidence in his plot and sees TO 1t
that his hero makes clear. interesting ana
fresh impression. There is indication on the
last page that ze may hear from Rouletabine
again. L cannot be too soon
Tenderness is the one resource in which NJ
Bazin Is rich The first Of his novels to be is
sued in English in this country. The Nun.
left 2 good impression, but Redemption" gives
even better account Of his talent. The Nun
was good deal in the nature Of q tract, a
story almost too obviously based upon the re-
cent straining Of relations between Church ana
State in France In Redemption the author
sake o. rather for the sake OF a single char
acter His heroine. Henriette Madiot is q
young rnilliners ernploye al Nantes. She has
her love story and her tragedy. She cannot
bring herself 70 marry the fisherman who woos
her. Her brother comes TO a bad end But IL
IS not for these matters or for others which
bear upon the evolution Of his rather fra1l plot
that n. Bazin has written his book He has
written II 10 bring out the qualities Of humble
folk. TO show how girl burdened with
work and beset by temptation may by her cour-
age and goodness play fruitful part in life
l. Is Z pathetic story. but the dangerous
ground which this implies the author carries
himself in admirable fashion His pathos rings
tue The sentiment with which he paints his
human figures and his landscapes are always
wholesome. The reader who does not grudge
tribute of tears TO the novelist will find pleas
ure in Redemption
NJ Charlton's novel with the ugly title Of
The Virgin Widow" easily detaches itself from
the ordinary run Of summer fiction 1t is
aslxins story told with originality. The sup
posititious narrator is a man short in one leg.
unattractive Of feature. and altogether unQuai-
fed - compete with his fellow men in love OF.
for that matter. IN any Of the business OF life
His brother is luckier and. not long before his
death. brings home a handsome wife TO the old
English farm wherein the scene is mostly laid
This fortunate brother also establishes in his
house little French girl whom he has adopted
When the married brother dies. poor neglected
John lives along at the farm with the widow.
Am. and the child. Francine Presently a lover
appears and John has TO look on at a situation
which steadily becomes more and more diff
cult To whom does B-amwen Moore pay his
court. 70 Ann OF 10 her young charge? In the
average novel the question would not be OF