Evening star., 1924-01-26
The Library Table
BY THE BOOKLOVER


that of giving recipes or formulas
works OF the greatest fiction writ
ers can be thus disrespectfully
handled. Dickens, Victor Hugo,
Balzac, for example, all used methods
and material easily listed and of
course easily parodied. Thackeray
and George Eliot lend them selves less
easily to such analytical treatment,
as also do some of our best present
day writer's, such as Galsw orthy,
Hugh Walpole and Edith wharton.
A writer VINO has been producing
novels rapidly Of late, and has fall
en- into the habit of repeating
characters and situati to such an
extent that one might almost write
out formula for her next novel in
advance, is Maud Diver. Her last
novel, Candles in the Wind seems
ilke a composite of all her previous
novels.
The recipe for a Maud Diver novel
might be given as follows: One
Anglo-indian half caste, who makes
great deal of trouble for all the
other characters; half dozen Brit
ish officers in the Anglo Indian
service, all noble, heroic and self
sacrificing, but one of them a little
more poetic and interesting than the
iothers-the hero of course; one mid
Victorian heroine, high -souIed. sensf-
tive. born to be the wife of a soldier,
but very naive and SO obtuse that
she never knows the hero is in love
with her until he tells her so in
words OF one syllable: one large
kindly, middle-aged woman, usually
the wife of the commissioner or the
colonel, Of the mother Of the-regi-
ment type; one "long -limbed," "boyish," "
fresh -colored, athletic maiden in her
early twenties-not the heroine, but
a good second, and sometimes far
more interesting.
| With these characters are mixed
the following situations: Two pro-
phetic dreams or visions in which the
! SOUS or the hero and heroine COM
| mune; 4 perilous journey of the hero
over a pass of the Hindu kush: a
| tireSome and more or less dangerous
| journey of the heroine into the hills
during which the hero turns up &C
cldcntally, and OF course makes himself
! Indispensable several cases, some
times an epidemic. Of typhoid choIera
! or the plague; the rescue Of the
| heroine by the hero from danger o1
| Il serious accident, such as a fall froIr
| horse or over q precipiCe. during
| which the hero inadvertently reveals
! his love Che has been trying hard tC
conceal ii because either he is a mar
ried man or the heroine is a married
! woman; any number of regimenta
| dances, polo games and horseback
! rides. which give opportunities fol
! the development Of emotions Al
/ these characters and situations are
! thoroughly mixed with n hundred ol
! more pages of very good description
: Of IIimalayan scenery. 1t will b.
seen that the ingredients of MauC
| Divers novels are by no means un.
! nrere sting. The persistent stupidity
I Of the Maud Diver heroine does
! however get on ones nerves She
| is always represented as being {
| woman Of refinement. intellectual at
| t2inments and worldly experience
| and yet she is able to accept tht
! devoted attentions. soul outpouring:
| in voluminous letters and slight!
veiled love making of the hero, fo
! over "a year, without suspecting fo1
! one instant that he is more thar
! "a friend " She rides with him
dances with him, sees him daily
/ writes to him regularly when he i!
away. accepts his escort on a thre,
L
| erieved and injured because her hus.
| band, of coarser clay. voices some
objections and appears not to trust
| her. That sort of naivete may have
| time Of Augusta Evans Wilson. bu
| hardly does so with readers today.
Collaboration in writing is more
common in France than in this coun-
| try. Two collaborators OF years stand
! ing are the brothers Jean and gerom.
! Tharaud who some time ago won the
Goncourt prize. Their great narrative
power has been chiefly employed in
| the writing of impressionistic travel.
! fiction, rich in atmosphere. One OF
I their best books of this type is The
Shadow of the Cross" recently trans.
! lated into English. The scene is {
/ little village in the Carpathians. anC
a series of vivid pictures shows the
| vast tradition of Jewish ciyiliza tior
! in its conflict with modern and hos.
!; tile conditions. Israel Zangwill says
! of the book: While not impecca bile
! it is an incomparably vivid and fas-
cinating picture of little known
Jewish sect
! Il is Il matter of great regret tha'
j Thomas Nelson Page did not live Il
! complete the book on Washington
! that his long residence here. hi!
F.! knowledge of and love for the city
and his literary gifts SO we'll qualified
| him to write. Washington and Its
Romance" recently published, is de
| lightful, but it covers only the earlier
! history. stopping in the Jefferson ad
| ministration. And the portion that i.
! now published, had Mr. Page lived
jected TO considerable revision tC
make it measure UP to the authors
! usual literary standards. Even so, We
! are glad to add this fragment to the
! growing shelf of interesting book:
! about the Capital city. 1t recounts
J the story of how Washington came
! to be selected as the seat of govern
! ment. the survey and planning of the
Capital. the operations of the land
! spectators. the erection of the frs
/ public buildings the transfer of the
J government from Philadelphia and
| the early social life of Washington.
| :; :: - x
| To the enterprise of the Nationa
! Geographic Society we are indebted
for an exceedingly interesting and
valuable book on Washington. enti-
! tied "The Capital Of Our Country
! 1t consists of five articles reprinted
/ from the National Geographic Maya
zine, as follows: THE Story of Wash
+! ington." by DIR. Charles Moore; THE
Lincoln Memorial by Chief Justice
! William II. Taft; THE Capitol. Won
der Building of the World by DR.
Gilbert Grosvenor; "The National
! Capital" by the late Viscount Bryce
and "The Sources Of Washington
Charm" by j. r. Hildebrand. The hool
/ has profusion of Illustrations, includ.
! ing sixteen in colors.
| x X X i: