New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-09-24
Letters TO the Editor
This Freedom"

This Freedom"
Sir: One morning last week, In
glancing over your ever-interesting
paper, an unusual 10 oking advertise
ment caught my eye. On looking at it
more closely I noticed that it referred
to A. s. M. Hutchinson's latest work
entitled "This Freedom" and that it
WAS inserted by the publishers of this
novel, and they seemed to be rather
annoyed at what Mr.. Rascoe had said
about this particular book.
] read the advertisement once again
to make certain I understood it. The
publishers congratulated your paper on
the quality of its judicial literary crit
icism, in which Mr.. Rascoe must have
said mean things about the book and
its author. And they quoted extracts
from another review in which it was
stated that the book was worth while
reading.
This advertisement was SO strikingly
different from what advertisements
usually are that when 1 passed book
shop showing this book in the window
| investigated and found that the story
dealt with Marriage and a Woman's
Career" The subject was interesting
to me and | at once purchased for cash
copy OF this book. publishers, please
credit that advertisement with one
sale)
l. confess that | have never read any
of Mr.. Hutchinsons previous works.
and that under these circumstances /
was entirely unprecedented and unbiased
In so far as his style and workman
ship were concerned, but that | had,
however,. certain definite opinions on
the subject matter to be "novelized.'
read the book finished it last
highland when | put it down and
switched off the light and turned over
to fall asleep | decided, then and there,
that Mr.. Burton Rascoe was right.
] had expected meat and | got saw
dust. | had expected sound and
reasonbe statement of the problem
and working out of these conditions
to at least logical conclusion,
whether that was happy ending or
otherwise. The statement of the
premises was vague and indefinite and
the conclusion derived therefrom
verged upon the ridiculous.
Mr.. Hutchinson's English is not
what you would, in any sense of the
word, term GOOD. IN it are seen evil
dent traces of attempts to initiate the
great author of the French Revolu-
ton" The imitation of Thomas Car
lyle's involved and intricate style is
plain enough, but it lacks the punch
that intensive meaning and gripping
vitality that are so much part OF
Carlyle and his works
In the case of our Mr.. Hutchinson it
has all the sound, the fury and the
form, but it is only stutfing.
We wade and stumble through 300
pages of preliminary matter, and the
climax and conclusion are covered in
the remaining fifty pages.
1t is too bad that he didn't arrange
to Kill all the children--one is almost
forced to smoker at the most tragic
portions of this book.
The whole story is so ,atentlv
absurd end labored-it's so untrue and
so very impossible Does Mr.. Hutcbin-
son believe that the reading rublic is
so infantile that it would swallow such
an absurd mess?
altogether, the book proved tre-
mendous disappointment. The problem
OF Married Life for a Woman W;th
a Career" is many sided and has Won "a,
derful possibilities for the serious and
earnest writer who can handle the sub.
lect with skill and ease and with a
semblance OF reality and truth.
Your literary critic may have bis
faults or shortcomings, but in this
paItlcular instance his opinions and
judgments are sound and honest, and
- IS lnaeed, pleasure to see at least
one critic whose views have MOI ias..
| warped or Influenced bv the attan, 1n
of publishers to palm off on tbe , ZIP
a shoddy article. pup'ic
zoo p WILLIAM j. SHORE.
lS6 Fifth Avenue, New YorL fs;t,,