Evening star., 1925-11-14
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY the BoOkiouer.

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graphical novel called The Soul En-
chanted." AS n-Christophe" was
the story of the development of a
mans character while he passed
Through the periods of his life from
youth to old age, so The Soul En-
chanted" is the story of a wornan's de-
lvelopment. In the first volume, An
nete and Sylvia" Annette is a young
igirl, adoring a brilliant but dissolute
father who dies just as she is enter
ling womanhood. She finds comfort
land a vivid interest in life in hey
Iillegitimate half-sister Sylvie. Be
tween the two girls there grows up an
intense devotion, marred at times by
jealousy that amounts to hatred. At
the end of Annette and Sylvie," An
lnettes interest in Sylvie lessons be-
cause of a new and absorbing interest
in her own infant son.
In Summer" Annette. through the
loss of her property, Is forced into
conflict with "A hard and greedy world
from which she must wrest a living
flor herself and her son, who has no
acknowledged father. Her life be-
comes for u long period an epic OF
work, with the one touch of romance
Iher love for her son. Marc, as he
grows older, shows an increasing re-
lsemblance to his grandfather, the ele-
igant selfish RiViere. His mother al
ternately bores him by her affection
and puzzles him by her reserves.
After a time she ceases to hope for
love from him and then her nature,
fundamentally a passionate one, De
gins to resent the monotony or her
life, filled with hard work and destitute
of all emotional values. AS she reaches
the age of 40, the clever, brutal physl-
tVNt.
her life. Her association with him Is
brief and turbulent. AS Summer"
closes she has just emancipated her
self from his domination and is again
ifree-free to work and be lonely. But
lshe is supremely happy because she
knows the JOY of possession and
self-dependence, after being enslaved,
first to her son then TO Philippe.
l"She had feeling of relief, as II
knot, a link of the chain, had just
lbeen broken. And in a fash she had
la vision of the chain of servitudes
lfrom which, one by one, the soul
slowly frees itself through series of
Iexistences, its own and those of others
iUhey are all the Same)." Now the
World War begins and Annette goes
forward with renewed courage to meet
it War? Well. SO be it. war
lpeace, it's all life, all part of the
game. l II take my SHARE.
Two Of the Younger and more radl-
cal among modern English critics are
r. Middleton Murry and Rebecca
West Most Of us are likely TO think
of Middleton Murry as the husband
of Katherine Mansfield, whose power
as short story writer wa3 becoming
so sure at the time of her death, but
"a
editor Fand critic. He was editor OF
the Athenaeum from 1919 until l92l,
and is now editor Of his own maga-
zine, the Adelphi. Much OF his pest
work has appeared in these two
periodicals and in the Times literary
supplement. He always has the keen
est interest in Russian fiction, es-
pecially that Of DostoeVsky and
Tchekhov. Modern writer's and newer
literary forms appeal to him in gen
eral more than the CiassiCais and the
classics. He does not accept unqueS-
| tionably established standards OF
criticism, but forms new ones for him
self Yet his criticism has nothing or
the spectacular about it. 1t is careful,
reasoned. free from eccentrlcity. 1t Is
also somewhat lacking in animation.
Ever since she wrote The Judge
| Rebecca West has interested the read
! ing public. That seemed remark
able novel for a woman barely 30 TO
| have written. and we have all been
! looking for another one ever since,
but it has not come. Instead RebeCca
West has been deyoting her energies
to the London Daily Express on her
religious belief. The article showed
her as curious combination of
an intuitionist. She seems TO combine
Scotch common sense with Irish
| ina agination, for she is Of Scotch and
! Irish parentage. Both these qualities
| appear in her statement after her
visit to the United States: But as re-
CARDS the country in general, l
wouldn't pretend for a moment to
any authoritative knowledge OF IT,
| One couldn't hope for the truth about
America from a few months visit. 1t
| is too big a proposition altogether for
| that" As far as / can remember
Rebecca West is the only British critic
who has felt so modest about attempt
ing 10 interpret the United States
after a short visit. In all her criticism
| there is evident the purpose to be fair
and open minded. The utmost freedom
| of the individual, both in living and
| in the production of literature, is her
gospel. Her manner Of writing is per
sonal and original. With her gifts, it
i is to be hoped that she will not settle
down definitely in the role of critic,
| but will again take up creative work.
x X X
Paris, with the Seine. which is an
almost daily accomplice in suicides.
| it's famous morgue and its hauntS OF
Bohemianism and of crime in the
Latin Quarter and Montmartre. is a
most desirable setting for mystery
story. Cleveland Moffett has chosen
! 1t for his novel, THE Seine Mystery
| A crime committed early in life by
the novelist. Pierre Launay, darkened
his whole life to such an extent that
| he finally decides to give up the strug-
gle He disappears. What has be-
come of him? What influence has he
had on a number Of other people who
come into the story? What does his
wife think about 1t all? How does 1t
| all end? These are some of the ques-
/ tions answered in the course of the
| unravelling of the mystery.
The autobiography of Forbes Rob.
ertson, "A Player Under Three
Reigns," is the record of an unusually
rich artistic life The famous actor
| came of an artistic family. His father
! was for many years art critic on the
| London Times. Sir Johnston Forbes
| Robertson himself in early life was
much more interested in painting
than in acting, but, as the eldest of
| IL children, he felt that he must get
| to the business of earning living as
soon as possible and so he took a
theatrical engagement which was of
fered him at the Princess Theater in
London. His success on the stage
was rapid. Forbes -Robertson's first
tour in the United States was made
in 1885, his last in 1915. All his life
he has found his chief recreation in