The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-21

books issued within the past few months has been Mrs. Wards new novel, which is the first one of hers the scene of which is laid partly in America.
 The novel ran serially in a magazine only about half of the novel as 1t stands today appeared serially.
 The story deals with Daphne Floyd" a beautiful young woman-not an Amer iean, as many readers and critics have stated and worried over-but the daugh- ter of an Irishman and a South Amer iean beauty. The old man Floyd. after many vicissitudes landing finally in Illi- nois, where he made and left to his beautiful daughter an immense fortune, put into the hands of Mrs. Ward the one point she successfully makes in her new book, to-wit: The mistake of turning large fortunes over to young women who have not been prepared by education, training and so on, to handle so much money.
 It is on divorce-the fundamental diff ferences between American and English character and social customs, however, that the plan of the book lays.
 A poor, wel-born Englishman, Roger Barnes, meets, fall in love with slightly sufficient to marry-Daphne, for her money and the plot of the book hangs on the points made by Mrs. Ward in regard to divorce in America in certain states, such as South Dakota, etc.-the ease with which such divorces can be seeured-whieh causes the wife, Daphne, who really loved her husband, to seek a | afrffaa
 Husband and wife drift apart with the ever looming In the near distance the | knowledge to Daphne how easy she can free herself should she desire to do so. 1 She finally decides that her life demands that she free herself. She leaves her husband; goes to the States; hides from him and in time secures a divorce which, | of course, is not valid in England. l It is around this rather melodramatic l plot that Mrs. Ward has written her latest novel. Many readers have insisted that 1t is far below in worth anything that | this gifted author has yet written. May be 1t is, in some ways. But this reviewer ! defies any reader to begin Marriage 1 la Mode and lay the book aside until he has finished it. And, one could not say exactly that in regard to 'The Test 1 ing of Diana Mallory for instance.
 Mrs Ward has brought to our attention also the fact that we have in this country 1 at least two beautiful spots, to-wit: Mount Vernon and Niagara Falls. The l book is well worth reading, if only to gather the charming descriptions of those two places as well as the delightful char acter sketches, slight but sure, which Mrs. Ward gives us of MT. Roosevelt, MT Taft MT. Root and other public men | of note at Washington.
 Marriage a la Mode' in the reading is similar to witnessing a delightful | drama. In any event. you can't lose by .{,I. ,ac forth.
 Ladies, Fair and Trail" by Horace Bleakley. (John Lane Co) It Is getting so now that almost any l thing, that few years ago could not pass through the United States mails, is ! being sent forth by publishers.
 Ladies, Fair and Frail," consists of sketches of the half-word during the eighteenth century with numerous DOT traits reproduced from contemporary sources
 Although the names and portraits of many of the heroines of this volume, such as Fanny Murray, Kitty Fisher, Nancy Parsons, Grace Dalrymple Eliot and Ger trude Mahon, known to her friends as the "Bird of Paradise" are familiar to | all who take an interest in the times in 1 which these ladies, fair and frail, four l ished, hitherto little has been known of their lives and adventures, and 1t is stated that their biographies have never before been published.
 The monographs of these famous sirens contain much that Is new even to we'll read student of the epoch while they are written in a light narrative form that will amuse and more than interest the | general reader.
 Ladies, Fair and Frail," is not intend- ed, nor should it be put in the hands of the proverbial young person, but the book i Is interesting all right, all right and then some considerable.
 Product and Climax" by Simon N Pat
 ten, in the "Art of Life Series" issued
 by B. w. Huebsch.
 What Is 1t that underlies our industrial discontent, our social unrest? Why is the laborer restless and sulen instead of happy at his task? Why do we create law after law providing punishment for acts whose commission ought never occur to right thinking people?
 MT. Simon N. Patten, who Is professor | at the University of Pennsylvania, has been pondering over the above and many more questions of like nature, and he has found wanting a proper balance be- 1 tween action in toll and reaction in en- joyment or recreation.
 MT. Patten contrasts simple country life in which activity evokes immediate and
 
 city where toll and pleasure are incon- gruously Joined
 To bring about the right relation be- tween work and play, with the purpose of making a healthier and happier race, is Mr. Patten's aim and for a simple dag- nosis of the so-called disease and the simple suggestions for it's cure, those who are interested In social and moral better ment are invited to read Product and Climax" which will give pleasure and profit.
 Loves Privilege" by Stella M Dur
 ing. c. P. Lppincott Co.)
 There appeared a book called Dis inherited' in the year 1907 written by Stella --. During, published by the Lip pincotts, that so delighted this re- viewer that he wrote the publishers asking for information in regard to a hitherto unknown to him author. The author Is Englishwoman who in 'Disinhe erited' made a delightful hit.
 She has repeated that success to a more or less extent by the publication of "Love's Privilege" which is a mys- tery story.
 The story recently appeared serially in the Chicago Record Herald in series of stories for the solution of which a number of prizes were offered. Loves Privilege" itself won from the Record Herald 5000 prize and out of $500 solutions that were offered to the newspaper regarding its ending; it's mystery and so on, only 106 were even approximatel correct the reader hay