New-York tribune., 1922-03-05
N:=:::= THE POVERTY OF NEW YORK FICTION
GEOGRAPHICALLY
her daughter for "wast-

49, her tame in silly
--,xa! rAa-sang" ks Lhe bsok tnar the &iis .-~1
xs,osen was an excellent and veracious uovei OF
contsmporaneous English life, knew that she
vas not wasting her tinse, and turtaer coI's'o-
Grafton of the matter led me to surmiss that
her father naust have been man Of laaaglna-
ton and intelligence.
This grim-visaged n,atren is not the only
person In the community who Considers novel
reading q waste Of time. Indeed, doubt II
even the thinking classes seriously consider the
educatio value of the best fiction. IN order
70 understand the life and customs Of remote
times or alien peoples we rnust turn 70 tie
novelist rather than to the historian, for
while the latter chronc'es episodes and @vsrsts
the story writer sheds a new light on those
events and makes history comprehensive ard
entertaining:
To gain knowledge 81 England Of the early
years Of the last century we may study the
pages Of Jane Austen, whose novels, such as
Emma" and Pride and Prejudice" faithfully
portrayed those phases Of provincial lite with
which she was most familiar. Mrs. Gasksils
Mary Barton" dealing with the Manchester
working people OF much later period, helps
US to understand England's labor unrest Of
to-day. From the novels Of Charles ReAde we
learn Of the conditions IN prisons and insane
asylurns, against which he protested with tho
full vigor of his pen. Charles Dickens died
more than half century ago, but to this day
the American traveller on his first trip abroad
expects TO find the London that that incona-
parable story teller fixed indeliby on the minds
Of his readers.
Thackeray's pictures Of aristocratic life are
also unforgetable, as in lesser degree, are
skose drawn by Trollope Of the upper middle
class or professional circles, of politics and Of
church dignitares. TO read his descriptions
Of what might be called the ecclesiastical
graft CT his time Is to understand why many
Englishmen would like to get the bishops out
Of the House Of Lords. Mrs. Oliphant's con-
temporary portrayals Of the Nonconfornlsts
are also worth reading. To come down to the
later decades Of tie century, we find in the
works Of Mrs. Humphry Ward and of that
daughter of Charles Kingsley, who signs her
self Lucas Maet, trustworthy and convincing
pictures Of the best classes Of English soc ety.
No young girl who has made herself thor
oaghly familiar with the literature I have
named can bs found guilty Of any waste Of
time.
sometimes ask rayself If future generations
Of readers seeking information as TO Amer
isan Life AMI customs of the present era will
find in modern fcton all that we who
s.udy the past find in the great English nov
e.s OF the nineteenth century. Have we any
writer's whose work from the point Of view Of
authenticity is to be compared with the pic
tires Of ordinary, well-to-do Americans to be
found in the earlier works Of Mr.. Howells
and Mr.. James? Have we single novelist
ca abe Of conveying to the mind Of that In
tclligent foreigner whcse Judgment Is reputed
70 be that Of posterity an adequate idea Of
The social structure Of our country and the
manners, customs, virtues And foibes 81 It's
i hab;tants!
Most of our "best selling" authors--it wss
a black day for literary art when that term
gained its ascendancy--resemble tie "bit ac-
s,r" who attracts attention by the careful de-
lnea.icn Of a minor role, but fails as the CEN
tai figure in play OF undoubted clever
ress in describing small section Of the
american nation, they seem lacking in the per-
snective necessary for the survey OF broader
field.
But we are living in commercial age and