The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-10
"The Street of Adventure"


l. miration of America to 50 great an
extent by his work as a war correspond
ent it is improbable that The Street of
Adventure, his ten-year-Old novel, would
be enjoying a revival. As novel it does
not justify the exhumation, but as q
novel by Philip Gibbs It does. Persons
who know HIM as a correspondent only
viii embrace the opportunity Of making
his acquaintance as novelist. The story
is of life in a London newspaper Office
and IS the best selection that could have
been made from Mr. Gibbs's work for re-
printing, as his claim upon our public
is journalistic, and thus the connection
Is established.
As picture of newspaper life the book
does rather well, though it viii undeniably
appeal more acutely to those who are ig-
norant of the ways Of reporters in their
lairs than to those privileged to know
them at close range, and it IS conceivable
that even the pepole who read for infor-
nation viii find Mr. Gibbs taking their
ignorance too much for granted, his man
ner too consciously informative. The
Philip Gibbs of ten years ago was apt
to become boring In the endeavor to lay
his world before US In much the manner Of
returned inmates of boarding schools who
regale US with their highly colored
scrapes. If he had written The Street Of
Adventure this year it is safe to believe
that he would have shown a complete
lack Of the sef-eonseiousness and false
Judgment which mar tine book. That he
would have left himself or at least his
name out of the story IS equally certain
Does il smack of bad taste to have an
author give his hero a letter Of introduce
ton IN his own name, or are we wrongf
The preface to Mr.. Gibbs's novel, which
should, Ike most prefaces, be read before
and after the story, confirms cur belief
that the newspaper of which he writes
actually existed at is no secret now
he writes, shat the newspaper was the
TTibwne, which lived and died before the
war, as one Of the most unhappy adyen-
lures IN Fleet street. Many of the char
acters have been recognized as real peo-
pie and have forgiven me- for my por-
traits of themselves, not uulindly In IN
tention even when touched with earica-
tue"
1t IS no easy task to create hero for
a novel In which he Is so obviously to play
a minor part, and the fact that it has been
accomplished here with only an OCCASION
al leakage of sawdust impels US to the
belief that Frank Luttrel Is one of the
characters taken from life. Even 50, he
IS remarkable, as the Evest people are apt
to die on their way into fiction. Int
trePs adventures in Fleet street are put
forth in detail and as many other peopIe's
IN less detail rs can be crowded into 400
pages Luttrell was from the country,
that fount of English heroes, the SON Of
rector, highly strung and graduated from
Oxford @He was unfortunate In being
gentleman and something Of a scholar
Mr.. Gibbs remarks in launching him upon
his journalistic career. The Luttrei type
IS selected as least adaptable and most
susceptible to the sort of spell that
newspaper Eeaves about It's victims
There Is, of course, love story, strictly
journalistic, and so good that SIN years
after the publication of the book sol
diers fresh from the trenches remonstrat-
ed with Mr.. Gibbs behind the lines rs to
the manner Of its ending. This We learn
from the preface, which astonishes rs.
An author should not deliberately give
his story away before it IS begun. We
are not In accord with the soldiers, how
ever, and find entire satisfaction with the
development of the plot
TIE STREET OF ADVENTURE. BIZ
PHILIP GIHBs- E. P. Dutton 8 Co.
THE best thing any one can do, who