New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-07-23
"SPICE AND SHOCKS"
THORPES WAY. By Morley Roberts
Emo. PIP. ga The Century Company

| THORPES WAY. By Morley Roberts.
l2mo. PIP. ga The Century Company
John Montague Thorpe, the hero Of
novel which IS announced upon its cover
as ono Of spice and shocks" is a motto
rious' and awful" person of the G.. b.
Shaw type In fact. the story is built
round a fantastic simulacrun. Of Mr..
Shaw. This Thorpe is an author whose
productions are. for example. unpleas-
ing 10 a critical journal known as The
Grandmothers' Gazette" This authority
sacred Mr. Roberts tells us. TO in
tellgent animals and the middle classes"
saws that the last Of Mr., Thorpe's five
books. is "perilous and poisonous 10 the
morals of English maidens.' Thorpe is
prophet of the unconventional and con-
stantly delivers himself of ironical slaps
al British idols He is a very jumping
lack Of paradoxes. His conversation is
fun of so-called Shocks He is tired
e Shakespeare. he says 10 his neigh
Dor at a literary dinner. and goes on:
Being essentially a writer of pot-boilers.
he never put any human nature into MS
works"
is that the reason he bores me-" asked
Molly. IL,
obvious JOY.
Yes" said Molly
1t would excite attention II l insisted
on shaking hands with you az TINS stage
of the evening" said Thorpe, but YOU are
a brave girl / admire you awfully.'
"Whyy' asked Molly. Because you are
courageous" said Thorpe. Shakespeare
| mas been an evil influence I'm this unfort-
/ HtYTafp Eng
[ land impli.s that the best has been done.
/ But literature and the arts are only Just
| hcginning Shakespeare had low Ideas. Ills
/ highest pasSiou was patriotism, Which Is
tho nohlest pont I'm any caunbal. There has
been a conflict between shakespeare ana
/ nature, which has ended in England ana
/ Germany in the death of nature; LOOK
/ at his women. The critics thlnk II Il
woman is like nature, she is false To
Shakespeare Instead of going back TO
nature we are 70 30 back TO ShaktSpeaic'
who carved nature for us ana tor az tnle'
oh the cult is a calamity for all con-
ceTncd.'
This is pretty cheap fooling, but it
goes 10 the heart of Molly, while Molly's
responses so inname Thorpes magma
ton that. though they have never met
until that evening. he requests her TO
marry him before the dinner ends. This
happens in the first chapter. and the rest
of the book is devoted to the efforts of
Molly's ignorant, underlined and very
Philstine mother to keep them apart
and To marry the girl 10 the prospective
heir of an earl. This is a person affec-
tionately called Gloomy Fanny" He is
i'm the language of Molly's young stock
broking brother "a Brighter" He amt
got the brains of a boiled rabbit" says
Forty. but think what the mater will
be when you're countess, Molly
Fanny" however, turns out to be one
of the agreeable figures of the story and
quite too good To be the object of
sneer. Mollys great grandmother, an
electrical old dame of ninety who drops
her his and has bubblng sense of
humor. is funny in the vein of broad
farce; Smpkinson. the popular novelist,
is funny after the fashion of solemn
prig crammed with platitudes. The en-
counters of all these people make an
amusing story-though Thorpe's care
fully considered spice and shocks are