Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-06-20

AA~AtsA by ATCHlUdlu Mai hoA4
II author Of "Exton Manor" etc
New York: Dodd. Mead & Co.
an essay that is as keenly
critical as it is freely humorous,
Mrs. Katherine Gerould makes
complaint of the group of Eng
fish novelists represented by Hugh
Walpole, Gilbert Canaan and Archi-
bald Marshall. Her difficulty is, Sc
she says, that she cannot tell one OF
them from another. And often
habitually, one gathers-in her read
ing one of these writer's she is com
PEELED to pause to remind herself as
/ to which one it really is who is I'M
weaving the tale in hand. Now, that
is really nothing against the school
| to which these authors belong, nor
| against the authors themselves. All
i it means is that these have electeo
to mirror the life around them, as
| nearly as this is possible. The per-
sonality of the writer is kept to the
background. Since the most of life
| progresses steadily, instead of by
| catastrophes. the novels of these
| young writers are on a general lever
of actuality, rather than on the
| heights of personal idiosyncrasy. The
book in hand is a case in point. Its
| action has to do with the achieve
ment of marriage by a young man
whose indifference in the matter
| caused him to be chosen, instead OF
| choosing. A circumstance so com
mon as to occasion no stir at all.
There is fitting love episode-just
| shadow. dream. The story has
| to do with the gradual accommoda-
tions and adjustments by which
folks settle into matrimony, finally.
oo1Y CT
despite the lack of anything like
tremendous passion. In his tranquil
and intelligent mode of artistic crea-
ton Mr. Marshall develops this COM
monplace of life in a manner so true
to life that one accepts it without
question, and, indeed, with a good
fund of admiration and interest.
THE GREAT ACCIDENT. BY Ben
Ames Williams, author of The
Sea Bride" etc New York: The
Macmillan Company.
A vigofaus story Of the ms and outs
of American politics applied to the
affairs of sample town of the COM
mon United States brand. The place
is of sufficient size to show the game
of politics brought to a good degree
of perfection in it's plots and counter
plots for the supremacy of party and
the triumph of one leader over an
other Even a congressman becomes
involved here, but the main issue is
that of the mayoralty. which, by the
accident" referred to in the title,
falls to the son of Winthrop Chase
to Winthrop Chase. jr.-instead of to
his sire, the openly avowed candidate.
Now young Chase has been something
of limb-juSt enough of limb to
support more lines of opposition to
him than could be imagined in any
enterprise. save that of political
campaign. The story is SO filled with
incident. events trail one another so
close, that one gets the notion of ex-
aggeration. But, a minute of pause
restores him to the certainty that this
is not more than does happen in this
particular struggle for almost any Of
flee in any part of this great country.
And young Winthrop Chase turns out
to be winner-a real. Outstanding
American young fellow to whom one
pays an abiding allegiance. once the
actual Chase strikes his gait. good
all-around story of one phase of
American politics.
the Society of Arts and Sciences.
New York: Doubleday. Page & Co.
This volume of prize stories was
planned and produced as a memorial
to William Sidney Porter-the be-
loved o. Henry-who touched the
everyday streets of New York with
the magic of romance. The history of
the book is as interesting as it's sub
stance. A committee of high liter
ary judgment was selected to gather
out of the magazine publications OF
1919 a group of the best short stories
contained therein. Out of the scores
that were taken under consideration
fifteen were elected to make up this
volume. Thirty-two, besides, received
hannro h1o rnontinn And fhiS nnh1 ira
ton by title, SO the board of awards
decided, carries all the honor at
tached to publishing the complete
story" Among the fifteen short-story
writer's represented here are Ben
Ames Williams, Wilbur Daniel Steele,
Albert Payson Terhune. Fannie Hurst
Edna Ferber and Samuel A. Derieux.
A wide range of theme meets one
here, naturally. They come together,
however. in a unity of literary excel
lence that serves primarily, the origi-
nal intent of the publication and gives
to the reader, besides, a volume of
keen and absorbing interest.
THE CLANKING OF CHAINS. BY
Brinslew Mcnamara, author of The
Valley of the Squirting Windows"
New York: Brentanos.
This is story of Sim Fein. Writ
ten by an Irishman, he is expected,
according to rule, to make a fifty
fifty exposure England. on the one
hand, a bloody and brutal nation that
has beaten half the world to the
knee of submission. On the other
hand, Ireland, home of saints and
martyrs, out of which glorious
buried civilization is emerging at the
hands of the Gaelic League, while, at
the hands of Sim Fein, triumphant
nation is being wrought. For once,
in this particular, expectation fails.
For here, in a complete devotion to
things as they are, Brinsley McNa-
mara pictures gray little corner
of Ireland, the hamlet Of Ballycullen-
A triumph of sheer simplicity makes
bodily transference of this sordid
corner to the pages of the book in
hand. Within this austerely real set
ting the author follows the career of
Michael Dempsey in his efforts to re-
deem Ireland by the very rational
method of beginning with the re-