The Washington herald., 1920-11-14

novel," he declared, "but the novel without
a purpose were much better not written
at all Let me explain: the novel written
with conscious purpose, to show. for in
stance, that smoking cigarettes is bad for
the health, is not artistic; but the novel
which is written without purposeful view
OF life is not worth reading. You see the
author should have thoughtful, enlightened
views upon all general subjects with which
life is concerned, so that in telling his
story he may give these purposeful views
to his readers"
He does not agree with those writers
who believe that novel is inspired and
should be written helter-skelter. He be-
lieves that book should be planned be-
fore it is written.
an this you see the systematic idea of
the French novelist" he said. my last nov
el, 'Caliban.' divided into I4o parts in my
plan and knew just what was going to be
in each part Every incident was clear and
diamond-cut before | began to tell it; each
part dovetailed into the next"
After his wife and his two children Mr..
Georges chief interest at home lis in his two
orange Angora cats, kalhkrates and Rus
set. 1t is to these two cats that Blind Al
ley" was dedicated. 1t was to Kallikrates,
with silky, pale-gold coat striped with
bronze, who purrs "as a singer humming
ing and closing the story in that earlier
novel.
Mr. Georges friends are his English lit
erary contemporaries. His breezy deserip-
tions of them are entertaining.
Arnold Bennett he described as having
never quite got over. being awed by met
ropolitanism and the gorgeously uniformed
bell boy, in the Ritz Carlton, who gives
Mr.. Bennett the feeling that he is con-
fronted by Peruvian general. Mr.. Ben
nett comes from the. FIVE towns in. the
center of England and attends London
first nights-when all London society arrays
itself in replendent evening dress-himself
in a dinner coat to be sure, but wearing
bowler which he never removes during the
entire performance But it is Mr.. Benefits
very awe of everything in life, IN Mr..
Georges opinion, that gives his work its
freshness.
Mr. Georges foodness for Compton Mac
kenzie is signihcd by his way of address
bewailS George Bernard Shaw's growing
benevolence. One still feels, he said, that
Mr.. Shaw would like to put strawberry
jam on ones chair before one sits down.
but Mr.. Shaw refrains; he is no longer dia-
bolical, no longer nachiavelian. Mr.. George
can think of John Galsworthy only as a
saint with his high dark, domelike forehead,
HIS LOutit always ISduy 10 weep dIiu his
way of nearly always understanding and
always plying, whether he understands or
not"
- But it is Conrad whom Mr.. George ad-
dresses as Master" and to whom, he de-
clared significantly, all the younger novel;
lists OF England look. Strangely enough
he admits, despite this veneration for Con-
rad, the influence until recently seen in the
writing of the younger novelsts is not Con-
rad, but Wells.
Although Mr., George deplores the writ
ing of novels which have sex interest alone,
he expressed much interest with all modern
lists in love and marriage. But he was a
little surprised to find that there is still more
interest shown in this subject in America
than in any other upon which he dis
courses. ss go
Mr.. George placed the blame for unsuc.
cessful marriage almost entirely upon the
husbands.
II must explain, he pointed out, that