Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-11-08
ckENNA'S PLANS
FOR SOCIAL REFORM
They IRE Suggested in HiS
Third Norei in " hich
Sonic" Appens

stephen Mckcnna has some sort oi
II social philosophy which he i evidently
preparing to set forth in the future.
\ glimpse OF what it is likely to be
is given to the reader in Sonia Mar
ried, his latest book.
The two which have preceded il may
be regarded as preparation for what is
to come. McKcnna began with Sonia
Between Two Worlds" in laying his
foundation. Here he introduced Sonia
Dainton. an ari>tocratic young woman
devoted to "A life ut guiety. and II little
careless of the proprieties. Along with
her he told of the doing, of David
q ORaue. brilliant. crratic Young
lriShman. with curious and impractic
able notions. Then came Midas and
Son the story of the fortune of Sir
Aylmer l.anciug and how the rcspon
SibilitiCS Of looking after il upset the
balance of Sir Aylmcr's son. Deryk.
Some of the characters in Sonia ap-
pcarcd in Midas" When Dcryk had
decided that he was not equal to spend
( ing his fathers fortune as it should
be spent he willcd il to Raymond storm q
away. a public spirited and successful
/ diplomatist who had ideas Of what
/ should be done with money for the good
/ If society at large.
The story in the latest book. "Sonin
/ Married" is told in the first person by
1 Stornaway. II is apparently the story
! of the married lite Of Sonia and O. Itane.
who had loved the girl from his youth.
yet could not induce her TO marry him
until he came home from the war with
his sight gone. One is left in doubt
whether It was pity or love that in
l J,t,nl bpp N hnan,pn d lunn'. wife
The. reader is introduced to the couple
living in an enlarged artists studio.
The studio itself is great oak pancl"d
room with two frcplaccS and raised
das al one end Oh which rcfectorS
table is constantly set with food. The
door to the house is never locked aud
O'Rane welcomes all sorts of strange
characters. He explains that people
! were kind to him when he lost his
sight and that he cannot refuse heip 'o
any one in need He has taken under
his care n young woman who has been
basely deceived by some rascal and was
doing what he could to restore her self
respect and find place for her in the
world, The young woman falls in
love with him. He also takes in a
pacifst poet who has had trouble with
the authorities. The poet falls in love
with his wife. And the wife flirts with
every creature in trousers who comes
her way. Some one is made to say
of her that she would make eyes at
/ the statue of Shakespeare in the square
| if no other male were i'll slght. y
wealthy villain with whom she has
/ airted conyinces her that O'Rane is
unfaithful to her and she goes to him.
/ David with fine idcalism had told her
/ that if she were not happy with INN
| he would not hold her. The villain
/ treats her so brutally that she leaves
him and when her child is about to be
/ born David has her brought back to his
home. He explains his quiXotic con-
duct by explaining that when he mar
ricd her he had sworn to stand by her IN
sickness and in health so long as he
/ lived. The story ends with soma undsr
David's roof and David leaving the
house. but ready to return to her when
she needs him.
Now Stornaway. who admires David
and has faith in him, announces that he
has made the young idealist who puts
his ideals into practice, trustee to help
him in spending the Lancing fortune
of So 900. 900 for the good of society.
David has asked some one what is the
good of the Sermon on the Mount II It
Is not applied to life. This suggests
the kind of social philosophy which
| McKenna is likely to set forth in the
seouel to the three novels already writ
ten to lay the foundation on which to
build a fourth.
i That McKennu can make such Il novel
interesting should go without saying.
He has proved his skill in creating
character and in telling an absorbing
tale. Sonia is as real as Becky Sharp.
And O'Rahe, with all his unconyen =
tional ideas, sets them forth so plau
,ibly and is made SO humanity interest .
ING that one does not for a moment
mistake him for al abstraction in hu-
man form with an, author pulling the
strings that make his puppet move,
! SONIA MARRIED. BY stephen MGkenna'