The New York herald., 1922-02-12

LIFE AND DEATH OF HAREIETT
FREAN. BY May Sinclair. The
Macmillan Company.
KISS MAY SINCLAIR is an ac-
lVI complished writer who seems
stricken with a desire to
demonstrate her ability to make as
good portrait OF an unpleasant sub
jeet as of a gentler, lovelier group or
individual. There is a vogue, at the
moment. for ugly little statuettes of
ungainly. half developed human
forms. cast in bronze and exhibited
merely as exhibits" surely, because
it can give nobody pleasure to look
at their outlines. save as proofs of
anatomical knowledge and certain
skill. Some such performance, in a
little story, is Miss Sinclair's short
character sketch called Life and
Death of Harriet Frean" which has
appeared serially and now comes in
book form from the Macmillan Com
pany. One who admires .xs- un.
doubted gifts Of style and sympathy
and creative art might be inclined to
regret that she should have thought
it worth while to write this story of
n scrubby little woman in England.
But since Miss Sinclair has a right
to do what she will with her own.
il is with sincere regret that one
comments upon her eccentricity of
taste. The girl of the story is not
distinctly English; Miss Mary f.
Wilkins used to write about just such
creatures in New England. years ago.
She could do it; so can Miss Sim
clair. This detail seems now eStab-
lished: would she might let it SO at
that.
''The Divine Fire" Miss SineIair's
first novel, has not been matched as
a rounded performance in any of her
later literary work, though 'The Tree
of Heaven" was. in a degree. of the
same ample, enveloping literary grace
and beauty; "The Belfry" was n de-
lightful tour dc force OF sparkling
wit and skill and engaging charm.
When an author has won the admira-
ton Of her public by such sheer
literary merit. that public-whieh did
not admire sher because it was the
fashion to do so but because she
produced such admirable work-shali
not be charged with fickleuess If it
shows signs of deploring Miss Sin
clair's preoceupation with what
may be called the Richartisonian
method in modern English story
Writing-a clashing and rafting If
dry. bare bones. and an exercise in
the articulation of a skeleton story in
sentences made up of key words. 1t
seems n morbid sort of performance
Mr.. Wharton has given Us one or
two extremely unpleasant individ-
ual characters; Mrs. Gerald has
closetful Of things not any too fit
for social intercourse: but neither
of these writer's throws overheard
her own power to create the atmos-
phere in which those unpleasant
beings exist Miss Sinclair, on the
contrary. jettisons her most valaable
cargo: the stark figure of Hdrriett
Freda, from little childhood to the
closing sixties OF q dreary. dismal
life. is held up in q toy chamber OF
horrors. like something TO frighten
naughty children. Docs Miss Sim
clair suppose anybody is going to
take warning from the puppet thea
ter? Nobody ever does: mankind
steadfastly refuses to avail itself of
the accumulated experience OF the
past; they viii try it for themselves:
they are not interested in bogey fig
ures.
Miss Sinclair's dismal little story
IS concerned with the strained. dis
torted life OF a girl and woman who
lived under an obsession of always
doing the morally beautiful thing. It
is a study in repression developed
into actual obsession. Only sterile
nature could be capable of Harriett's
performance. and the beauty of ster-
ility is not an inspiring or attractive
subject for a work of literary art.
Miss Sinclair is an artist who takes
great liberties with her endowment
There is no law against it. but much
prejudice. w. .. M.
RICH RELATIVES. BY Compton nc
Keuzie. Harper & Brothers