The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-07-03
q DAILY
BOOK REVIEW
THE WILD OLIVE.


The anonymous author OF THE Wild
Olive has known how to reach a senti-
ment that lies very deep. 1t is the sense
OF oneness with society which is the
unconscious mainstay OF self-respect in
the average human being. Through an
ingeniously imagined but entirely natural
plot, this motive Is made TO coalesce with
the interest Of an unusually strong and
appealing love story The hero. Norrie
Ford, Is in worse case than the man
without a country" he is deprived from
the right to be himself, because. after be-
ing sentenced to death for q murder
which he did not commit, he has ned
from the law. The scene opens In the
Adirondack wilderness Norrie Ford has
broken prison. and is running through
the woods at night. BY chance he comes
10 the house OF the Judge who had con-
demned him, though ne believes him in
nocent. The meeting between them dra-
matlcally states the problen-on one side
the man representative Of society who
has done his official duty in sentencing
an innocent man: on the other the sup
posed criminal, outraged and rebellious.
AS they are parleying Ford sees outside
a girls form reckoning TO him, and he
follows The girl is Miriam Strange the
Judges ward There is a stain upon her
birth, and she knows how to sympathize
with the outcasts She shelters him IN
little shack which she uses as a studio,
until the pursuit has died down, then
furnishes him with money 10 go 10 South
America. Gratefully he tells her that his
life is at her service. Ford takes from
Miriam the name OF Herbert Strange;
through her he is virtually transformed
into another being.
The new man Is much stronger and
more capable than Norrie Ford, but there
is basic flaw in him: he believes that
as society has cast him out. II can no
longer hold him to its strietest rules;
he feels that he has a right 10 take what
has been denied him. In time he wins
success and through the family Of bis
employer, is brought into contact with
HIS own class. But he cannot escape the
consequences OF his false position He
falls in love with his employers niece,
Evie Colfax wholly dazzled by her beauty
and superficial charm. The bitter ques-
ton for him is whether he has a moral
right TO marry her. It is made harder by
his discovery that Evie is the step
| daughter OF the judge who condemned
i him. Nevertheless, he wins her consent
/ to marry him, and her uncle. who Is also
| her guardian, gives a qualified approval
TO the match. Then Strange is sent 10
New York on important business, and
here he meets Miriam again With all
| her might she tries 10 prevent the mar
rage with EVE, which, in the long run,
can only result in unhappiness. At last
she reluctantly reminds him OF his prom
Use TO her long ago. The effect upon him
| is greater than she expects or can endure
/ loving him as she does. He declares that
he will reveal himself as Norrie Ford. and
take his chance with the law Very
! finely II is shown how the woman s
! creative influence. which made him Her
bert Strange. transforms him back again
into his true self. Almost against heI
/ Will she has reused the deepest impulse
OF his manhood, and she is able 70 dc
so just because all along she has beer
| absolutely true TO herself and 10 him
The situation is one Of the most original
that any writer has conceived. yet it Is
| wholly human and convincing. Through
IL, the love story attains a deeper mean.
ing II is pleasant 10 add that the happy
ending is as logical as anything in the
story.
The Wild Olive" is a novel as much
out OF the ordinary as THE Inner Shrine o.
and its success seems sure 70 be as great
! The book is illustrated By Lucius Hitch.
| cock. CNew York Harper & Bros)