The Washington times., 1923-03-04
"SPILLED VINE
A STORY OF
YOUTH
Novelist Tells the Story Of
Anne Fielding In the Form
Of q Series Of Plcture.Im.
s ssIa5sg Wv. wv ir..El 5Iss.! Z.

young W0lHah named Ann
Fielding hears d si0ss rsIae
tionship 10 lta tide. Iut just -
the spilled wins he's no haFnaing
influence on the wins iekt Fl the
cup. 10 tho life and love " the
heroine retains ~ original
strength and ideals. despite the
splitting incidents.
Ann Fiolding's mind Was n
empty picture gallery, waiting 20
be filled. The first picture she
hangs on that wall II the gir1hood
friend - Martin Armstrong. 10
him she owed her first awakened
interest to the mental joys Of life,
her first knowledge Of music, art
and literature. her first love.
The second picture n the sal.
1ery was Gustave de Courcy.
Ann met him IN 4 studio In Paris.
whore she had gone to taste life
to it, fullest. after she had writ
ten q successful novel. Gustave
answered . need Of her youth. =
deep. clamorous, primal need.
Then having tasted OF the Tree Of
knowledge. Ann was more her
own mistress than ever before,
and ready to return to her home
In England.
The second English picture was.
an Apollo-like youth named Ter
renee Cunningham. His love with
Ann had an Arcadia for It, set
ting, and the reader Ii distressed
when Terrence 10 conveniently
put out Of the story by meeting .
tragic death while horseback
riding.
Adrian Carstairs was the title
Of the last OF AIMS pictures.
With him she finds an. ideal mar.
ried life and real and abiding hap
piness. And being . modern
woman. Ann. the mother and
wife, still finds time TO pursue
her chosen art-that OF writing.
SPILLED Wine" il q typical
novel of the day. It sweeps along
with imaginative interest and the
love idyls are Economically beau
tiful. If the story il an account
Of the authors own life, then she
has filled the picture gallery Of
her mind.
SOMETHING went wrong in
Nalbro Bartley's latest novel,
up and Coming Putnam). The
story itself presents a highly in.
teresting study in the upward
development Of three generations
Of Americans, and the tale, In
branching off from the principal
characters, brings into being
numerous unlabeled types Of men
and women, whose effect upon
the narrative is always logical.
The author may have set out
to write the Great American
Novel, and If so, went at the job
too seriously, too self-consciously.
Nalbro BARLEY is always an inter-
esting writer, and up and
Coming" is. in analysis, worthy
Of the readers thoughtful atten-
ton; but during the actual read
ing there 10 no such enjoyment.
Perhaps the tale Is too bare Of
good adjectives, and underfur-
nished with pregnant nouns. Per-
haps the author overthought, and
failed in artifice to conceal the
fact that up and Coming" is a
product Of hard-hewn reason and
merciless psychology. The novel
is a good book for the studious;
but, then, a novel which becomes
a textbook fails Of its original
purpose and fails wholly to fulfill
the expectations of reader or
writer.
Miss BARLEY may have erred in
trying to balance the characters
Of Jones Bynight and his mother,
making them equally prominent.
One is never sure whether the
story centers upon the man or
the woman, and consequently 1t
is difficult for the reader to place
definitely his inevitable sympa-
thies and his dislikes.
up and Coming" may be de-
scribed as q procession Of vital
events in the lives Of q family.
The grandparents were immi.
grants, Illiterate; the second gen.
Grafton was on the lower fringe
of the middle class, and in the
third, one observation-disclosures a
noted art critic, one daughter a
beauty culturist and the other
daughter q university professors
Hxyjfn