New-York tribune., 1922-11-05
Imaginary Portraits
By Ben Ray Rednan

soME DISTINGUISHED AMERICANS:
imaginary Portraits. BY Harvey O TIig-
gins. Harper & Bros.
-M- N AN essay published in "The
n National Review" in 1899, Ed.
mond Gosse uttered a warning
calculated to disturb the COM
piacency Of British novelists. After
commenting on the present tyranny Of
the novel in the family of literature, he
wrote: "This is so universally ac-
knowledged nowadays that we scarcely
stop to ask ourselves whether it is a
heaven-a appointed condition of things,
existing from the earliest times, or
whether 1t is an innovation. As a
matter of fact, the predominance of
the novel is q very recent event" Mr..
Gosse then went on to say that during
its brief course Of existence the novel
had already suffered two lapses from
public favor; that there was no as
surance that 1t would continue in its
place OF supremacy, and that il con-
temporary novelists did not improve
their output they would surely. suffer
the same fate as that (which befell
their ancestors just before the death
Of Scott"
This warning may have had an empty
sound in the early '9os, and even now
it requires an effort to realize that the
tyranny of the novel could ever be
seriously threatened. But there is
small cloud visible ON the horizon, a
cloud that may grow to great pro-
portions, behind which it is just con-
,ceivable the novel may some day be
hidden. The dust has been kicked UP
by small band of biographers, and
the public is encouraging their advance
by 1attering attention.
Mr.. Strachey, of course, leads the
way, with Mr.. Guedalla marching bril-
llantly at his right hand and Mr.. Brad
ford marching less brilliantly at his
left. What hosts will follow after the
banners of these three no man can
say, but be assured the hosts will fol-
low.. And there is flying squadron,
small as yet, composed of those who
believe biography fair form in which
TO let the imagination take shape: Mr.
Masters showed the way in verse, for
his generation, and he does not lack
imitators; Mr.. Beerbohm's "Seven
Men" excites the initiative spirit, and
Mr.. Hergesheimer has already discoy-
cred that the free exercise of ones
fancy along biographical lines results
subsequently in many embarrassing
questions regarding an author whose
name is available in no work of ref
erence
What, indeed, could be more natural
than the development OF the "imagi-
nary portrait or the Imaginary biog-
raphy"? Fiction in which action was
presented for it's own sake gave way,
some years ago, to fiction in which ac-
tion is employed only to reveal charac-
ter. The next step is obvious: the
character is lifted out Of the clutter OF
a novel and set down in splendid iso-
iatlon. We have then single portrait
or biography, unconfused by minor
characters and landscape.
1t is a clear-cut, tempting form. The
old short story is yielding rapidly to
the character sketch: it may be that
the novel will soon definitely break up
into its component parts. And the
have reserve force in
the companies of autobiograph hicai nop-
elists that are now roaming up and
down the world: one shrill trumpet
call and these authors would lay aside
their unconcealing masks and stand
forth brayely as avowed autobiogra-
piers. Yes, there is no doubt of it,
Mr.. Gosse may have croaked prema-
turely, but the novel is threatened.
The above reflections sprang natu-
rally from reading of Mr.. O'Higgins's
latest book-a book that strikes an
other blow for the biograpllers. II