Evening star., 1921-05-08
Reviews of New Books

MAINwARING. BY Maurice Hewlett.
author OF THE Forest Lovers"
etc New York: Dodd. Mead & Co.
I'm one sense Mr.. Hewletts new
novel is as modern as the Elm
! stein disclosure. In another sense
it is as archaic as the Scandi-
navian sagas from which so many Of
drawn. Mainwaring. it's hero. is an
Iadventurer-an adventurer in love
and politics. In the latter role he is
as waywise and adroit as this even
ing's triumphant political trickster.
In the former. he is the cave man.
He vaults into parliament from the
shoulders Of an excited labor mob.
once there. he plays the government
off against the people. opening his
own way thereby to the prime min
istry. which he misses by a mere
hairs breadth. AS lover he in
vades the homes OF high society.
bludgeonins half-reluctan: ladies into
| compliance. Along this sweeping
course he marries girl whose beauty
makes a throne of the doorstep that
she. on her knees. is scrubbing. a
secret marriage. this. during which
the wife comports herself with the
outstanding simplicity fand nlt OF
the dullness as welD that stamps
those 1celandic ladies Of the Hewlett
saga tales. MainwarinE is. at least.
4 couple of men. each of them
driven thing. both Of them devils.
The telling Of this tale is stra!Thtaway
and big of stride. In effect. the words
stand apart here. 20 let the man htm-
self through in unhindered perform
lance One feels that the author IS
making way for him. giving him an
open course. IS an author snouid no.
| as Mr. Hewlett always does do
THE NEW JERUSALEM. BY G. X:
| rhesterton. author of "Heretics."
| etc New York: George II. Doran
Company.
This is a travellers note book-the
| note book Of Mr.. Chesterton on ms
within that historic place. But MT.
Chesterton writing about his travels
; is as unusual in his methods ana
manner as he is different from every
! body else in whatever he does. no.
Mr.. Chesterton does not go into the
down what he sees. Instead. he takes
| the place up bodily-,n this case.
Jerusalem-and slows 1t away inside
| himself There he mulls 1t around
and mixes it up gsneraliy %ttn Snaa M, NJ,
ready to talk about ii. he talks about
something else the most OF the time.
His occasional touches upon the
theme i,self-say. Jerusalem-open
shafts Of real light. but these are
at the sepulchre. he swathes it in
philosophy. religion. the essence OF
sightseeing, the significance OF West :
minister Abbey At this moment. ana
80 on. and so on. The four corners
! of the earth and the starry vault or
heaven are made to contr'nu.e s , 70 uard t,.s
! illumination of the sacred spot. haro
reading. but good pay: when YOU 40
| get Jewel. as you do every little
while. And these penetrating fashes
| of thought are as likely to De aoout
| something else as about the subject.
Jerusalem For instance. one recalls
/, what Mr.. Chesterton has to say ABOUT
| his dog that he is leaving behind,
| quite as clearly and benefcially as
one does the bulk OF what he has 70
say about the Holy City. Ana even
these scraps of dog love and human
pages Of hard reading. However, one
need not be a churl. for his work is
abundantly rewarded
Authors ANDI. BY c. Lewis Hind.
author Of Augustus Saint Cav
dens." etc. New York: John Lane
Company.
| Fifty-c!ght authors standing IN
rowan impartial alphabetical row.
leading of with Henry Adams ana
winding up with william butleI
Yeats. In between are fifty-six most
,nt,res.ing men about whom readers
are rrodigiously and properly curious;
Having read them. or the most OF
them. one acquires the curious Itch to
dig into their more personal matters
to get acquainted with them as human
beings. instead Of as mere writers
desire That, however. IL not all that
he does-not by long way. In a
page. two pages he sums each man as
4 writer. That is. he sums the man. or
| woman. as this one has registered
with him. This relieves the book from
a formula criticism Ihat - 20!
Here is a man. Mr.. Kinds. who knows
the most Of these writer's personally
iand who has. besides. spent his life
in writing. and in the atmosphere OF
writing. Then. with the easiest touch
imasinuble he tells Of frst one and
another here with Judgment tnas is
as sound as j, is unpretentious and
full OF warm pleasantly gem
:amongst the average rubble Of literary
summaries.
THE sIsTERS-IN-LAW. By Cert
trude Atherton. author Of The
Conuueror." etc. New York: Fred
erick A. Stokes Company.
This story opens with the San Fran
cisco fire in 1906. 1t closes. twelve
wears later. with the last days of the
great war. Upon each OF these sub
jects the author paints in big pic
ture. The first one is vivid and in
innate. advancing upon one in a hun
dred convincing details. The other is
A haunting marginal shadow Of the