The New York herald., 1921-12-04
'"The Truth" About Her

are indubitably reminiscent-others
are purely imaginary. The comments
| are hackneyed. for the most part. al
though occasionally novel. At least
James James has been thorough
Britishly thorough.
James James is either an English
man or he isn't. To be sure, he thinks
in English currency and mentions
Ethel Dell instead of Eleanor Porter
but surely no man educated in Eng
land would forswear accuracy to write:
Men can tell her, brutally, the
whole truth about her. and forget the
only thing that matters, herself. And
she merely smiles. as Monna Vdnnd
! smiles through the centuries, a secret
| smile, a smile meant for every man.
though each of us interprets it diff
ferently :" (Italics are ours.)
Again the nudity complex-first
Truth-and now Monna vanna-not to
mention the typical woman whom the
author X-rays to the eye Of curious
man in the chapter on Woman: Her
| Dress"
Much of the book is amusing =
though irritating. Irritating not in It's
frankness but in its cleverness. Fre-
quently the reader is willing to con-
cede to James James a deep under
standing of human nature and human
frailty--and then just at the momenr
Of concession the authors evil genius
nudges him and whispers: Nov, be
clever-you haven't pulled anything
witty since page 49," Gosh. that's
So" says James James. and forthwith
wearily consults his notes and brings
up some triteness. such as For the
most important discovery yet recorded
about woman is that she does not
mean half what she looks and does
rot mean anything she says"-and the
reader is tempted to close the book.
The maiden aunt doubtless will. Per
haps 1t is just as well.
There are other moments--moments
for instance such as the one which
convinces the reader that James James
never watched Molla Bjurstedt play.
If he had he would not have descended
to the cheap paragraph on the sex
consciousness of women which ends:
THE greatest girl tennis players mind
is never entirely devoted to the game.
She is al dys conscious that she is a
woman, and she would rather lose the
game than have her hair come down
on the tennis court"
In effect James James is a nice old
fashioned person who refuses to be
modern and still lives in the quaint
antebellum days of unbobbed hair and
helpless femininity. He sneers at the
business woman and insists tina;
woman's place is in the home. There
fore he is at his best in his chapters
concerning those antiquitous institu-
tions. marriage and the home. His
understanding of the perfect lady T.
thorough; but that is the extent of his
understanding and OF his knowledge.
II Almroth Wright ever enjoyed kit
tenish moment we should expect hira
TO be James James.
The curious twist Of the subject
matter provides much more revelatoly
Information concerning men than con-
cerning women. There are few Of us
who learn much we didn't know before
from the dicta of James James-tha:
is, about women; but many of us will
appreciate his unwilling confessions
concerning himself and similarly
minded brethren. For example ad-
vises the author:
Try this experiment. No matter
what sort of woman you are. the next
time you are in a tram give the dis
creetest glad eye to the most respect
able man you see. VIII he give you the
naughty, touch-me-not stare Of grim
respectability? Will he, even when he
ig nof with bic u,ifa h1,iqb ft1rfouely
and stralshten his tie? Will he escape