Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-03-31

SHAKESPEARE'S MONTH
INTRODUCED BY PLAYS
Tercentennial of Poets Birth
the Occasion for Com
memorative Comedies

VIII Shakespeare Is running the war a
close second in the amount of publicity
nus friends have been able to procure for
him. Biographies sketches plays and
commentaries about the Avon Bard are
being turned out by publishers nearly
every day, aprOpos of the tercenteunial
anniversary Of his birth
one Of the most interesting volumes In
this mass of literature Is Edgar White
Burrills dramatization of John Bennett
Master Sltylark' (the Century Company
New York;. The thread of the story ia
hung with all manner of literary and his
torical trappings. Queen Elizabeth Ben
Jonson, Thomas Haywood and Shake
speara himself. appear in connection with
| the plot woven from the tale of Mich At
wood, the youth kidnapped by CASTOR
| Carew, the actor, who falls in love with
the lads voice. 1t is n very pretty ro-
nance. told with enough charm to hold the
reader despite the lack of any great
dramatic moments The characters are
very well drawn
The boy Shakespeare Is put forward in
Louise Ayres Garnett's delightful play.
Master Will of Stratford" macmillan
Company, New York;. The style and tho
poetic feeling Of the book may be caught
from young Wills lines to Mistress Shake-
speare
"Then shall ever bear in mind my
dreams
And one day tune mems visions to my
key"
In a prologue, three acts and an
epilogue, all on New Years Eve, several
characters are introduced which were
made famous by Shakespeare.
The glossary in the back of the book
should be read before the play. 1t explains
many words not generally understood in
the editions Of William Shakespeare The
notes also prove interesting, for they go
into minute detail as to the morris.dance
| or Moorish dance, as well as the explana-
tion OF quaint sayings.
This little play should frd welcome
among the workers in settlement centres
and other places where children are being
told Of the Shakespeare festivals to be
| held this year.
In "Our Miss York" by Edwin Bateman
Norris penn Publishing Company, Phila-
| delphia). the author has undertaken to pic
| ture the conflict between an impulse to-
ward the active life as manifested in the
| business world, and the desire for home
with its intimate relationships. He has
chosen as his medium of expression n
young woman whom necessity has driven
to make n living, and whose ability leads
her far toward the success that every man
desires The choice awaiting her Is brought
out plainly through the characters of her
! friends. chief among them being an artist,
and "hard-headed' business man of the
conventional type. In spite of the contrasts,
the characters are not finely differentiated
In fact Margaret York herself hardly
| stands out as a distinct person, although
| the struggle within her $ obviously gem
| uine.
| The style lacks force and exactitude. and
| some of the best passages are spoiled by
touches of self-conscious and flppant con-
versation. The decisive moment smacks of
the melodrama.
THE Return of DR.. Fu-Manchu" (Rob-
| ert NJ, Mcbride & Co., ". W is a thrill
! ing detective story which colors many
mysterious and weird moments with a
| touch of Oriental mystery. The scene Is
! in and about London and the leading char
acters are DIR. Fu-Manchu, the wicked
/ Chinese doctor; beautiful slave girl of
/ the Nile, who is under the influence of the
Chinaman, and two members of the Lon
don detective force. The scenes change
swiftly and in the majority there are one
or more exciting incidents. There is n
| warning on the cover, do not begin this
book at L p. m.," and 1t is well taken.
A dramatic story of the attempt of an
INSCRIPTIONS railroad to encroach on
property of sturdy American and French
| Canadian inhabitants of the picturesque
| Adirondack country. and the final victory
| through the efforts of the big-hearted
Joseph winthrop Bishop Of Alden. Har-
ward man and a convert to the Roman
| Catholic Church, is told in "The Shepherd
| of the North" by Richard Aumerle
Maher (Macmillan Co., New York;. It is
| told in a fascinating style. A forest fire,
which was started by agents of the rail-
| road to drive the mountaineers from their
| homes, is described in n wonderful man.
| ner, but is trifle lengthy on the whole.
| the story is of the thriller" type. and
holds the attention of the reader from
start to finish.