Evening star., 1926-04-24
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BOOkIoreT.

Knut Hamsun Is perhaps the Nor
wegian writer of today best known in
the United States, but the works OF
another Norwegian novelist now being
translated and published in this coun-
try rival those Of Knut Hamsun in
their accurate yet dramatic pictures
of Norwegian life Of the past and
present. Sigrid Undset. daughter Of
| one of the foremost Psychologists of
Norway, has vividly reconstructed
Norwegian life of the fourteenth CEN
tury in her Kristin Lavransdatter
trilogy-"The Bridal Wreath" The
Mistress of Husaby" and "Expiation." t"
Only the first two volumes have as
yet appeared In translation, but the
third Is announced for publication in
| 1926 and Is eagerly awaited by read
ers of the earlier volumes. There
| Is g. difference between this trilogy
and most other historical novels.
Though Sigrid Undset tells us on the
| first page that the events related took
place from 1906 on to little past the
middle of the century. we promptly
lforget her dates and have the illusion
that we are reading the life story OF
people OF our own day. In fact Kris
tin and her father, Lavrans; her
mother. Ragnfrid; her husband. Erl-
end; her numerous, rapidly arriving
! little sons, and all the family connec-
ton far and wide seem to us more
real, more modern, than many per.
sons whom we know.
X n u
There are two centers of locality in
the trilogy: One the manor OF Jorund'
gaard, home of Lavrans Bjorgulfson.
In the south; the other the manor OF
Husaby, property of Erlend Nikulaus
son, near the town of Nidaros, In the
north. The first Is the home of Kris
| tins girlhood, the second the home OF
her womanhood. Jorundgaard, under
the careful management Of Lavrans,
is a prosperous estate. He Is q large
landowner and good and helpful
landlord to his tenants" He and his
! family keep much to themselves. live
| plainly, and work hard at all the proc
esses Of farming and household indus
try. Lavrans and his wife are more
than commonly pious and God-fearing
folk, diligent in church-going, and
always pleased to give harbor to
Gods servants, to messengers sent on
| the church's errands, or to pilgrims on
their way up the valley to Nidaros." ="
Husaby, on the other hand. Is a badly
| neglected estate, because Of the years
of careless and loose living Of its
master. Erlend. When Kristin comes
there as a homesick bride she longs
| daily for her fathers we'll ordered
home which she has left. But she Is
| q housewife indeed and Immediately
sets herself to guide and order all
| things in her house." with the
help Of Ulf Haldorsson, the hench-
man. to manage the estate also, since
she sees that Erlend has little under
l t,,v FAw 4kA~
She finds all too much that Is in need
| of change. Everywhere she sees "ill
| husbandry." Barns, storehouses and
corn bins are nearly empty, yet there
are many horses and cattle to be kept
| through the coming Winter. OF leaf
| fodder there is not enough even for
the sheep and goats.
There is a loft half full Of rotting
| fax and u storehouse full Of 'old
unwashed and stinking WOOL" alive
| with maggots and moths. The cattle
are 'wretched, lean, CALLED and scabby;
and never had she seen SO many aged
beasts together in one place" She is
obliged to organize a thorough house
| cleaning, including the baking Of all
the bedding, fur rugs and tapestries in
the bath-house, for she finds at
Husaby filth such as she has never
| dreamed could exist in a manor Of the
well-born. Her bridal bed was spread
| above with silken pillows, with sheets
of linen and the bravest rugs and
| furs; but beneath was dirty, nloldy
straw, and there were lice in the bed
clothes and in the splendid black bear
| skin that was spread over all. . .
| Behind the costly tapestry hangings,
the unwashed walls were black with
| dirt and SCOT" But Kristin is the
daughter of courageous. thrifty, order
| ly parents and has besides a domi-
| nant character of her own, so she
| takes up the task of making over
Husaby and it's master. AS regards
the estate, she is fairly successful and
after IS years of marriage she has
made it into a good Inheritance for
her seven sons. With Erlend she has
| had less success.
The star that presided over the
] meeting of Kristin Lavransdatter and
Erlend Nikulausson must have been
| a stormy one; for their courtShip Is
first secret, then thwarted by Kristin' s
| father and Friends former mistress;
their marriage is too long delayed and
| their life together is so troubled that
| tragedy constantly threatens. Kris.
| tins long -nourished remorce for sin
and her absorption in family cares irk
her husband, while his irresponsible
pleasure-loving character fails to hold
her respect and makes her irritable
beyond control. Yet love persists be.
tween them. In THE Mistress OF
Husaby" Friends rashness and un.
governed impulses cause a long sepa.
ration from his family and nearly
cost him his life. In "Expiation" we
are sure. from the title, that Kristin
and Erlend are going to be called
upon % pay the reckoning for the
past.
4 x X X
1t is often said that the age of faith
is in the past and that we are now
living in an age Of science, Of definite
! ly ascertained knowledge. But here
comes d writer, John Langdon Davies,
with a book entitled "The New Age
of Faith," whose thesis is that this
age OF ours takes more on faith thar
any other age has done. What Is
more, the author claims that it 1:
| often quack science that enlists
mems faith-a science misused in the
cause Of prejudice. Mr.. Langdon- Da
vies very definitely and deliberately
takes issue with what Madison Grant
Lothrop Stoddard and A. E. Wiggan
have written on the subjects Of races
peoples and heredity. He denies the
validity Of their science ridicules Their
psychology and derides their fears
Characterizing them as race fiends'
and "heredity fiends" he Jumps them
with the fundamentalists like w. J
Bryan under the general classification
of false prophets" and he does 1t al
In a rich, rare and racy style, withou
a dull page, but with much good hu
NOR. Having performed this service
the author sums up briefly and effec
lively what science has really taugh
us about evolution, heredity and race
| X X X
Nine books of 1925 have a fai
chance of surviving for some genera
tions, according to the staff Of tn,
Newark Public Library, which hal