The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-14
SUMNER FICTION IS PLACID
LESS PRORI ~. HORE Pleas
TRE. NlIN MINN on DIR.
cites Ssmr NCIl kRsWn Ne'rlisi Nhs
HaNe l.rfi the serious side % i.Wr Tor
Piam i.a,r NHairS nr're nearhinE
PsmI Nrrrr Ne l.rugh a. OurSrirS.

Psln, Nrrrr W. I.ruEh a. Oursrl,rs.
see most Noteworthy tendency ~ re-
'eal' notion. -aId Miss Jeanette Gi'n"r
the other day tp person who asked her
opinion IN the subject -iS a refreshing
lack " tendency
Our novelist, have apparently relaxed
fer a season their efforts 20 leach NJ his
tory r'igiou politics. sociology and the
uussibilitics II rsychlCll r-earch and
havc amiably turned og any number NJ
volumes merely Tor M" diversion IT our
Idle hours
is thus Indicative II really new line
Of development asked the inquirer
lent spring fiction always compare
tively frivolouss-
To a certain extent n ~ replied Miss
Glider Publishers n not authors have
for some years been forced n recognize
the weather a. factor IN he reCkoned
with In the determining ~ the rsyChologi-
cal moment for the Introduction ~ a new
book The days which prompt us to for
Hake the highways for the narrow crooked
lance that lead nowhere m particular
and the grass grown paths that follow the
windinGs Of hrook and boast not
single siRnpost likewise impel ~ 10
esthew literature that would haunt 80
called signs NJ the times or point with
grim forehnger az handwriting On the
wsH Ne unfeellnkly cunsiKn the mia
understood heroine confronted by = three
hoFned dilemma Co a remote shelf to
await the falling leaves and sohhing " lnds
Of autumn and tuck under our arms that
latest thing with the red cover and the
book SELLERS guarantee for a laugh on
every page
Miss Glider paused for moment and
then said that perhaps she had spoken
hastily when she asserted that there was
nothing specially distinctive about recent
fiction.
The question n providing an adequate
assortment Of light reading Tor the sum
rnsr has for the most part been one II
iudiciOus selection on the nart ~ pub
hshers . she explained This year. how
ever. there 10 an obvious tendency on
the part "a several well known writers 10
essay the lighter vein. Winston Churchill.
for instance. has stopped delving among
colonial documents and written thor.
oggtzly entertaining story just about
Girl. Robert Chambers has postponed
the recital of another set Of happenings
around tho central figure NJ hereditary
vice and has produced delightfully."-
whimsical fantasy which every one i
devourinR. Lady Merton j. the latest
and highest hook from tho pen Of Mrs
Humphry Ward. and many persons ~
marked thet her Marriage 4 Ia Mode.
which prsceried n. Conta med les polili-
al erudi,ion than anything else she had
written
Miss Glider SAID she couldn't account
Tor the tact thst every IN" was trying h.
bshunorous except an the hasi- II natural
reaction
problems IN general end the elusive
ones Of the fourth dimension IN pa rticular
have been having their way with the
printing presses for long time she said
and the reading public has called . halt
spiriuIalism. hyURotism and telspc thic
manifestations sesm o. require the foot
light accessories to make them sub iects
~ popular interest ;us' az present Prob
lem dramatiZatipn has. r. is true scored
success this season IN several Instances
where II Was specially we'll done bat the
biggest hits after an have been IN. de- by
crisp. clean comedies Changes In public
taste are II course reflected IN current
hetivn a little before their Influence s
aoparent IN the theatres THIS isn't
49, 70 any relative sl0wne-s ~ p.rcep-
con on the part u pkywrights but
merely 70 extrane0us circums tlncss which
enter into mana gerial plans
I'VE have reallv reached tho poinf
now continued Miss Glider where w.
want 10 al hack and look az ourselves
In = spirit of what might term irdulEant
criticism. We may consent 10 shed an
occasional tear In the process but Tor
the most part We insist on smiling n
Thackeray were only alive now 10 hold
q mirror up 10 Manhattan. he would IN
doubleday he the JOY - every bookseller
In town. We want 10 look al our own
pictures skltully painted. and admire
the line and color and play Of light and
shade. while the critics hunt for the
esoteric meaning We are waiting for the
novel Of manners rather than a preach
ment thinly veneered with narrative
Romance pure and simple seems also
70 nave lfAsN US aNAFACtlOU Tor the moment.
e. has also bOssism and DTailCal finance
Maurice Hewlett has turned from the
language n Mallory 10 that 81 The
twentieth century landscape gardener
and iusiBlRe@ himself now and then. more
over. 10 a sly laugh a. the expense %
the gentle reader The short story writer
who a year ago was discoursing Of stock
exchange oCtOpuses and city selling
Aldermen, 10 now telling ~ pleasant little
tales n how a certain drummer sue
cseded In securing record breaking
orders. and the way an Fast SIDE manu-
facturer 81 ladies' cloaks got The better
81 the proprietor ~ 4 suburban emporium
1hose who deal With the unknown sack
~ illustrate The possibilities Of he
psychological laboratory ~ a means FOR
the detection NJ criminals Or descrtb.
wnh more OF less fppancy the working
methods NJ popular producer ~
miracles
Mise Glider said 10 reply IN another
question that she didn think the suffrage
question vas worth mentioning az an
Influence upon even the most ephemeral
type ~ current literature II was 81
course inevitable she sid that one or
tvo books should br written nv faddizts
in The interest ~ the fad 20 which they
we're devoted. but that these we're per
petratsd deliberately and With malice
afOrethOught and could not be ronsid
cred a. mere innocent works of ART Tor
art sahe
n. ). LOCkEN NV ROOk.
me CuriSrs srd EmbarrIssinE situation