The New York herald., 1922-02-19

Arnold Benefits new novel
is in discovering that Ben
nett is still himself. He is still the
boy from the Five Towns, half
starved, asthetically and gorgeously
gorging on the feast of London; still
the author who could afford to tell
'"The Truth About an Author: still
the vivacious fellow creature who
simply cannot refrain from instruct
ing us in the proper investment of
the twenty-four hours of the day.
And, quite incidentally, capital
story teller. ..
Yes, a novelist. In two
or three books-"The Old Wives
Tale; yhanger'-actually what
the French call an grand ecrirain, a
great writer. In much more
numerous books, a story teller Of
characteristic style, cunning observa-
tion, facetious philosophy and 4
really excellent brand of humor. An
engaging, impudent and altogether
amusing fellow. A chap who auda-
ciously and without warning switches
from merely entertaining to fairly
preaching at US; and then, just as
we are beginning to feel resentful.
drops back with the same irrelevance
into the simple role Of entertainer.
We can't entirely make him out, this
Bennett; we feel surprised, annoyed,
vaguely irritated. Confound the
man, where did he get his facetious-
ness, his touch of impudence, his
gift for irreleyance? 1t must be be-
cause he lived for some time in
France-what on earth would ma
tive of Staffordshire want at Fon-
tainebleau and in Paris, anyway? OF
course, it's his own business if he
won't take himself seriously; but.
as his readers, we really have a right
to demand that he take as seriously.
Yes, indeed!
Such q misunderstood individual,
this Bennett A beastly shame.
Highly ironical, too, when you stop
to consider that, to an extent not
practiced by any other author he's
told US all about himself and what
he's continually up to. Writing to
make money, for instance; nobody
could be more candid about the pro-
duction of certain books that frankly
were potboilers. And then we per-
sist, whole heaps of us, in going
right ahead and misunderstanding
Perhaps 1t wouldn't matter so
much IL Bennett had been less can
did and were less personally sensi-
tive. Fact! He is. Bennett is one Of
the most vulnerable fellows alive;
Certainly the most vulnerable. in his
personal feelings. Of any writer of his
standing. Why, when lot of critics
and people threw bricks at his last
before-this novel, THE Pretty Lady,"
old Arnold was so chagrined he al
most shed tears OF vexatSon. Said
he'd been misunderstood by a lot OF
Puritans and things like that; he
hadn't meant anything by taking a
French courtesan stranded in Lon
don as his heroine, she just appealed
to him as interesting and human and
pathetic and transiently worth while.
He couldn't think what the Ameri-
can reviewers, OF some of them, were
thinking of. He's a sensi-
tive old dear. il he Is So.
But that was way back over three
years ago. Since then Bennett has
given us time to compose our minds
by abstaining from fiction and
merely passing out book on women,
creatures he knows a lot about. and
on "Things That Have Interested
Me" and that he thinks we don't
kAow enough about. That title,
though! There we were again. Some
of US thought 1t had q pretty con-
ceited sound; as if Bennett visioned