Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-12
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
I. G. M.


"a LIES Morning" set out to be
tragedy. 1t is tragic in conception and
essence. For two-thirds Of It's course in
treatment also. Nevertheless, upon APP
proach to its own properly disastrous
climax, the story turns aside for the
makeshift of smooth and placid Gle
max. This, clearly in difference to the
members of q reading public who, with
troubles of their own, refuse In their
scant hours Of relaxation to take on the
woes of . love-lorn hero Of romance.
Publishers, like other market men, grow
wise to the intricacies of general de-
mand and shape their course to meet
the situation. And would an author OF
1 quality change the dictates Of art 70
meet a requirement of such clear phi
listinism? He would II he were hungry
enough, and George Gissing was hungry.
| The cravings of bodily easement TOOK
hand in the climax OF tbs novel. IL
was this that gave the mawkish ending
to IA LIES Morning" BY all the rules
of artistic development Emily Hood
| should have died. She was marked Tor
| that very end. But the publisher said,
| mo, The public won't stand for IT:
SO Emily laid her head upon MS
| breast" saying-apd the story Is done.
| 1t is the romance OF W1frlo AtneIs
love for Emily HOOD ana OF ms poCs a1,
| tial love for Beatrice Redwing as We'll
Both women love him. And again the
| forced ending throws Beatrice out OF
consistency into an altogether unbe-
| lievable magnanimity toward her
| fortunate rivals. Women aren't DunC
that way-not when they really want
not when their affections are really en-
gagged. You can see how the market
| took q man of certain genius IN hano
! for the partial undoing of some Of his
best work under the stress OF material
need. Again, 1t is interesting to read
the romance in this light, feeling ones
way along to the point where the
! genuine work of Gissing began to falter
and finally to break under the pressure
| imposed.
Morley Roberts, the lifelong friend
of the author, gives the inside OF tnls
romance in the light of these facts. IN
deed, one instinctively begins to do
little collaborating on his own account
| to see the end under its original impulse.
In his introduction to this GlSSing
novel, Morley Roberts, tells OF this par
! ticular unischance to the story, picturing
as well the rage and excitement and re-
sentiment of the artist under the de-
mands of the publisher. 1T Is easy 1or
any one who knew him., Morley ROD
erts still talking, Ito imagine with what
characteristic and scornful laughter he
would have met the Boeotian's request
| to alter the end of his story, II ne had
been. not rich, but even for a Few
months able to do without the few mis-
| cradle pounds with which his complt-
ance was to be rewarded. Even as 1t
was, he was long doubtful as he suf-
| fered the inevitable pangS OF one VINO
l d. ~
and authority" "GiSsing did not invent
! his books; they grew. How little 1t Is
recognized, even now, that the one great
mark of q real writer Is that he tnventS
nothing, for to invent is to be mechan-
/ ical. and art is growth, not mechanism
"A Lies Morning" is a story OF frus-
tration. Gissing himself was also
that kind of story. 1t is tale OF tenn
permanent. of the constitutionally I'M
| happy man, at odds with the outside
| world, at odds with the inside charac-
| ter. The effect of such uneasiness, un-
satisfaction, unrequitement in every d.
rection was to create q world Of tumult
| in the heart of this man. An egoiSt,
| Gissing, whatever his theme, wrote
about himself. Wilfrid Athel Is the
youthful George Gissing. Even when
| the outsider looking on sees no more
| than the usual heights and depths OF
all young love, this particular lover
encounters within himself such fear and
| menace such danger to his happiness,
such maleficent influences all round
about that never once does tranquility
| bless him, never once does assurance
calm him. That is George Gissing him.
self feeling and loving and telling the
world his own story. But, despite the
general pessimism, there is muon OF
beauty in this work, much OF quietude,
complete sincerity. II would not will
ingly part with any passage that Is pure
| GiSsing''-Mr. Roberts again.
And, again, the George GisSing books
are being available not only to the
| loyal lovers of this writer, but to q
growing appreciation OF the mans
power on the part Of serious readers
generally. Z. p. Dutton Is looking after
story of the English proletariat, Is on
the list Of this house. So is 1.-The Neither
| World" Soon the long roll OF Gissings
work will be in the hands OF many
readers, who recognize the sincerity OF
| this man, savage though this sincerity
so often is, and who have a feeling for
the beauty Of his work with words, OF
his writing manner.
A few years ago Frank SWinnerton
made a study of George Gissing, one
| of true helpfulneSs to those who are
curious about this clearly strange char
acter so at odds with much Of his sur
roundings, with practically all OF his
own life. In this book We find the boy
and those influences of home and fam
| lily that commonly set children on their
way. His father appears to have been
| a fieure In the childhood of GiSSing.
A rather brilliant lad, he won things
and took things by way Of prizes here
and there. A scornful fellow withal,
| the seed of the egoist spronting early
! and growing Justify. In critical APP
praisal, Mr. Swinnerton follows Gissing,
! the writer, through his novels, outlining
and evaluating these from the stand
point of the author and from that OF
| the general literary purpose and pro-
| duction of which his own work was q
part
1.-TWO or three ideas appear fire.
! uuently in all GisSing'S novels One
| represents his desire for the emanct-
patton of women from ignorance and
| Subserviency. It may be noted
that Gissing wrote at time when few
noveliSts were engaged in expressing
| such views" And here Mr.. Swimmer
| ton cites the Gissing women in proof
of the authors fair intent toward them.
But If women are to be educated, man
kind is also to be emancipated-from
dogma Gissin9 had all the sensitive
mans hatred of overbearing dogma.
He was himself intolerant, but he had
no sympathy with any btgotry other
than intellectual bigotry. Religious
dogma, the conventions of politics. the
manners of respectability had no appeal
, to him. Peace as a universal religion
seemed to him the one hope Of man
kind; democracy In power promised
the destruction Of natural beauties
and the substitution of pure ma
terialism and industrialiSm Emanci-
!
cipation he desired. Narrow faith was
intolerabIe to him."