New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-06-15
Some Tangled Plots by Arnold
Bennett and Others.

Nv Arnold .eunet. 16mo. PIP. ~. Bren-
tanc's.
BRITT OF HEApoUARTERs. BY Mar,
ciR Barber limo, pp. Sss. Aona'' iaio
q Co.
DEAD MANS LOVE. BY Tom Gallon.
limo, pp. 3l6. Brentano's
TIE MoNKsGLADE MYSTERY. By
EeaSon HIM Frontispiece. 12mo, PIP.
$40. R. z. Fenno & Co.
THE DAUGHTERS OF SUFFOLK. By
William Jasper Nicolls. With twenty
four illustrations from ole prints; limo,
colt Company
THE GIRL FROM THE MARSH CROFT
BY Selma L.agerlof Translated from
the Swedish by Velma Swanston How
ard. 12mo, PIP. ~ Boston: Little
Brown & Co
In these hurried days il is little diff
cult TO put contemporary novel to the
severest Of all tests-that is. to read II
second time. Besides. even II one had
the leisure. there are few stories invit-
ing the experiment We have tried it,
however. in the case of Buried Alive,
q novel first read year or two ago. and
we have been charmed to find that Mr..
Benefits tale is as amusing now as 1t
was then 1t is another of those very
characteristic productions of his in
which the reader is kept oscillating be-
tween comedy and farce The hero is
painter of genius who is also a shy re-
cluse His valet dies, and, through a
series OF circumstances at once natural
and impossible, the body is deposited in
Westminster Abbey as that Of the
painter. Priam Farll meanwhile begins
life all over again. under the name OF
his former servant. and presently mar
.ries a widow who has been negotiating
through a matrimonial agency for an
other husband. Here. obviously. are the
materials for a riotous extravaganza,
but the odd thing is that Mr. Bennett
contrives to handle them in such wise
that while he is often intensely comicat
he quite as frequently touches a gentler
note and even adds a trace Of tender
ness to the story. He is, too, very clev-
erly satirical-
There is. by the way. one aspect or
This volume which rejoices the soul 1t
is printed in Germany, and, as regards
shape, size. paper and Typography, is
typical piece of Tauchnitz bookmaking.
In fact. we surnnise that it was printed
from the plates of the Tauchnitz edition
in which we originally made its &C
ouaintance II the Brentanos purpose
really to acclimatize here one Of the best
forms ever developed in the manufact-
ure of books they may he sure Of the
support of countless readers.
The detective story can hardly be ex-
pecte,1 at this late date to be more than
= variation of thoroughly exploited
genre. Absolute novelty is practically
out of the question. Mr.. MARGIN Barber
does not aim at it in Britt of Head
quarters but on the contrary, starts
with some oft-employed material This
includes q stolen jewel, a suspected
Young woman and a number Of confus-
ine clews which point impartially to
couple Of New York clubmen and to
some mysterious Hindus sojourning in
the city. The author then departs from
the approved pattern by calling in a de-
tactiva who is not q marvellously gifted
amateur but q member of the Central
Office force 1t is in the invention of
combinations puzzles. checks and new
suggestions that Mr. Barber is most re-
sourceful. OF course. one reads a de
iectfve story chiefly for the sake of a
uiizzIe whose interest ceases the moment
the solution is found. The authors duty.
therefore. does not extend beyond keep
ing the reader on the Qui vive to the
very end. This is certainly done by Mr.,
Barber
Dead Mans Love. story by an
English writer. is what his countrymen
have long been wont 10 call shilling
shocker" It begins in precisely the right
vein. II came out Of Penthouse Prison
on q certain Monday morning in May,
savs the supposititious narrator. Let
there be no misunderstanding about il,
he adds II came out by way Of the
roof NATURALLY. the reader is forth
with prepared for anything. II is quite
IN the order Of things that the escaped
convict should he carried out Of the zone
~ recapture by the an1iable owner of
motor car and that, when the machine
comes TO grief. the Fugitive should steal
into house discover 2 man hanging
dead from q beam and presently be made
comfortable in that individuals clothes.
But how is this hanging 10 be accounted
for7 Does il spell suicide or murder?
ASK Dr. Bardolph Just. the sardonic
gentleman who helps the eX-jailbird into
: dead mans shoes We like that name,
Rardolph just II fits bea utifully into
Mr.. Gallons Iurid scheme. OF course.
the tale has its love interest and like
wise Of course. though IT seems incred
fhle the man out of Penthouse Prison is
the lover AltogetllvT. this is most
amazing romance. preposterous but
somehow beguiling.
II Dead Mans Love is q shilling
shocker'' then The Monksglade Mystery"
is q penny dreadful" In this book we
have q handsome athletic young doctor
at the end Of his tether and suddenly
confronted by a pretty girl who warns
him against applying for the job offered
in q mysterious advertisement. Never
theless. Julian Penfold accepts the posi-
ton and finds himself established in the
house Of a celebrated hanging Judge"
nominally to serve as that persons medi-
cal attendant, but actually to be his
bodyguarG, protecting him from the
hands of a secret band of assassins.
There is tidy little murder achieved
by these fearsome folk early in the book,
and when the scene is changed TO the
country sinister c-ents are rapidly null