davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
Mary Armut's Book
Is Good Mystery
RIVER HOUSE. BY Mary Ar

RIVER HOUSE. BY Mary Ar
mat. (DOrrance g. Co., Inc.
S3.00.)
In a style and setting rem
iniscent of Mary Roberts
Rinehart, Mrs. Armat has
turned out a mystery DOM
mated by a decisive but soft
hearted dowager and featur-
ing characters clearly delin-
Gated in snow white and coal
black.
Mrs. Armat, who lives at
Greystone on the edge of
Rock Greek Park and is the
widow Of Thomas Armat, a
pioneer in the motion picture
industry, poses this problem:
An escaped convict turns up
near dead at the door of
River House. Should he be
returned to prison forthwith
or nursed back to health with
tender. loving care? Natur-
ally, the latter course is fol-
lowed-even before it devel-
ops that the eScapee is a fell
low aristocrat, The story is
told smoothly in the best ira
dition of the had-I-but-
known school of mystery ro-
manceS.
MIRIAM. GUTENBERG
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
New Angle

At last there's q French
novel about a married man
who hasn't got a mistress
with an apartment down the
street and actually prefers
his wife to other women.
This is A QUESTION OF
CHARACTER, by Jean Hou-
gren. translated by Marvyn
Savill (Farrar, Straus and
Cudahy; $500
Andre. who tells his own
s'Ty, teaches school in a
small French town. One
night a misery storekeeper
across the street is murdered
and robbed. Soon after a
young man, a clerk in the
postoffice, comes to Andre
for private lessons in French
grammar, preparatory to TAX
ing a test for colonial service.
Andre sees something sim
lister in his pupil, suspects
him of the murder and is
convinced that the young
man plans to kill him before
he, Andre, reveals whatever
he knows.
Andre ends up in Jail,
charged with the murder of
his pupil and suspected
of killing the storekeeper.
Andre also feels that his wife
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17

Gallery, 1705 @ street NV,
to remain through August 81.
These are shown in co-opera-
ton with the st. George Gal
lery in London, which firm is
now represented in Washing
ton by Mr.. Bader.
Most Of the % prints on
view are in many graphic
media. including combina-
tons. A few of the artists
are already we'll known in
Washington. John Piper's
paintings and prints have
been shown at the Phillips
Gallery, Fantasy and else
where. His color Autograph
isle d'Elle" with its clean
outline of buildings against
a brown and yellow ground.
is one of the outstanding
items in the Bader show.
Stanley William Hayter, too,
has been shown even more
frequently in Washington.
His technical virtuosity en-
hances all his prints, al
though the japanese Fam
lily" In the Bader show is
below his standard.
Worth Knowing Better
But most of these artists
are new to Washington.
Nearly all work in modern
idioms. some abstract, others
figurative. Certainly, to Judge
from some Of the prints here,
a number Of the artists will
be worth knowing better.
Large figure subjects, Ro-
land Jarvis rugged Strong
Man" and Alistair Grants
Figure in SPAIN" and Cert
Richards near-abStract Bee
Keeper" in a composition Of
shapes suggesting the cells
Of a honeycomb, are among
the best items in the show.
Henry Cliffe's reclining
Torso" is a good abStrac-
ton, with suggestive forms.
and bright warm colors.
The most beautiful land
scape is Charles Davis
"Hampsfell" (offset lithog-
raphy). Allin Brands dark
strong "Cottager" and An
thony Gross Forge" with
heavy diagonal lines making
a sharp perspective, are out
standing in this theme class.
Gertrude Hermes has a
large representations wood
cut of a ram, and Michael
Rothenstein a decorative sim
plified blue Fish"
One can hardly expect
everything in a group to be
interesting or meritoriouS.
Some of these prints are dull
distractions or superficial
and childish (e.g. Roger Hill
toms Woman to the lay
eye at least.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
Group and Solo

Recent paintings by 10
Washington artists, and a
solo print show occupy Col
lectors' Corner, 1925 Wiscon-
sin avenue, Georgetown,
through August. Summer
hours are 9 to 5 daily, closed
Sunday and Wednesday.
Five of the shows "a paint
ings are expressionist figure
subjects by Carlos Lopez. Five
are too many; they are hot in
color and obtruSively over
animated. Three Bull Fight
ers" is the best.
Gustav Trois shows a color
full Girl with Flowers"
marTed only by her face,
depicted in a way which
makes 1t less important than
any other details. preferred
his architectural potpourri,
Italian Impressions"
Small Oils
Juichi Kamikawa is repre-
sented with 3 sketchy small
oils, indefinite in handling.
Samuel Pratt's five small oil
sketches "City Impressions"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17

scenes of the three lords Of
the world who dare not turn
their backs on each other for
a split second. And his
amused contemplation of
stuffy Marcus. the admins
traitor turned soldier, way
over his head in conspiracy,
makes choice reading. Almost
alone among historical novel;
lists, Mr.. Duggan does not
feel that all history is made
in the boudoir. He is so cyni-
cal about these savage Ro-
mans he apparently feels
they we're not capable of
great passion, much less
greatness.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
NEW OPENINGS

abstraction Great Falls;
Sally Osborn's "Cellist" and
Irving Allsman's waterfront
themes in aquarelle.
Judith Weston is having a
small show of woodcuts. her
first in Washington. and
possibly her last for some
time, as she is moving away
this month. She has had
excellent training, at Bard
College, and her work is
surprisingly mature TO ran
artist of 81. Some Of her
prints are figurative. Three
Bathers, Figure RhythmS,"
Trees in Fall and Sum.
mer"; others are abstract,
composed of clusters Of
feathery lines, and incorpo-
rating the wood grain in the
design.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17

George Biddle, distin-
guished American painter,
sculptor, block printer. lith-
ographer. illustrator, teacher.
writer and lecturer. gave last
year to the Corcoran Gallery
of Art a collection of his
work covering four decades,
A selection of 80 Autographs
from this gift of more than
100 items, is one of three
Summer-long exhibitions at
the Gallery, two of which
have been reviewed here in
detail. This series of Mr..
Biddle's Autographs will re-
main through September 81,
and can hence be studied at
leisure.
Almost 80 years ago, in
a discussion of his own work,
he said Il believe that life
is the essence of art" Ger
tainly he has had a very
full life. Born in Philadel-
phia in 1885, he had the
upbringing of his class, Is
years of boarding school in
New England, Harvard Col
lege and Law School, and
was admitted to the bar.
Travels in Mexico
But his school years were
interrupted by sojourns in
the Southwest and Mexico,
where he was intoxicated
with the rich and colorful
civilization" Later he spent
months in Mexico as a cow
boy on a big ranch, and his
adventures made his legal
career seem the more aw-
full"
After passing his bar ex-
aminations, he determined to
dedicate himself to art, and
spent years studying in Phil
adelphia, Paris and Munich,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
Adolescence

The adolescence Of boys
and girls has often been ex-
plored by novelists, but rarely
so perceptively as in THE
WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT
by Nora johnson atlantic
Little Brown; $3.75.
This first novel is another
f1rst-person story. and the
narrator is the then 13-year-
old Marian Gilbert. Her par
ents are divorced, and she
lives with her mother and the
latter's dearest woman friend
in a nice apartment in mid
town Manhattan. Marian
goes to a plush private school.
There she takes UP with VAL
erie, a strange and gifted
child, who plays the piano
quite marvellously. but is sup
posed to be ill-adjusted and
goes to a psychiatrist regular
ly. Walls parents are not sep
arated, but they fit about the
world most of the time-the
father is some sort of inter-
national financier-and their
daughter boards with an
avant-garde artist and his
wife in Greenwich Village.
When the girl chums go to
a concert, Val falls in love
with the pianist, Henry
Orient. From then on this
musician becomes the obses-
sion of both girls. They trail
him, find out all about his
privateNlife, but never actual
ly meet him. When Walls par
entS suddenly return from a
prolonged stay in New York,
Walls life, and Marian's along
with it, becomes complex and
difficult.
1t seems to me that Nora
johnson has caught very
clearly the day-to-day crises,
the dreams and Illustrations
of two teen-agers who nee
essarily live on the edge Of
two worlds, childhood and
adulthood Sometimes, per-
hapS the narrator is under
standing beyond her age, but
it must be remembered that
she is presumed to be telling
her story in retrospect from
maturity.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17

kAAaAAJ Va tAAC a. tAoto AAo
exhibitions at the Library Of
Congress, and some Of the
artists are represented in its
permanent collection. A NUM-
Der are teaching art in COL
leges and universities.
Mervin Jules, on the faculty
Of Smith College. has the
largest group at IFA. Out
standing are his 'Pianissimo."
Of a conductor and his Or
chestra, and his "Cellist. I"
Anne Steele Marsh also shows
a group Of several fine tradi-
tional wood engravings; her
Recital" is small in size but
large in content.
The SOloists
Single performers have en-
gagged the interest Of Danny
Pierce, whose "Soloist" has
much textural variety, and a
composition of circles and
ovals in her pulled cheeks re-
peated in other anatomical
areas; of zeke liner, whose
"Violinist" is illustrated on
this page; Of Mildred Dillon.
Accordion Player; Berta
Golahny, "Guitarist";; B. M.
jackson, Man and Horn"
and Rudy Pozzatti. overlife-
size "Flutist."
Several musicians are per-
forming in prints by Emil
Weddige, Carnival" B. Berk-
man-Hunter: "Bowing at
Onyx" a bright little seri-
graph in red, blue and green;
Eugene Mecikalski, Gin
Mill" whose rafnsh- docking
musicians are beautifully en-
graved; and Barbara Neus-
tadt. "Beggars' Song"
Most of the above are fig
urative, but in modern idioms.
There are a few distractions.
the best to me being John
Pages color woodcut I'm
provisation," composed of
shapes suggesting horns and
musical notes.
In addition to art lovers
and collectors, musicians as a
group should find this show
interesting.
The l. F.. A. Galleries also
has opened a new show in
the lounge of Loew's Capitol
Theater, the 18th in its series
there, to remain through Au-
gust 81. This, too, is a group
exhibition of original prints,
all in black and white, by 10
printmakers, only / of whom
is represented in the show
reviewed above.
Contemporary British
Modern British prints have
replaced Washington artists
drawings at Franz Bader
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17


decidedly, at adult readers.
French novel, which is about
murder, but not a mystery
or a detective story.
FLASHES IN THE NIGHT,
edited by William Juhasz
and Abraham Rothberg
random House: $2.50) is
the brief anthology Of Hun
garian stories.
These stories were written
between 1854 and 1855.
These are not propa-
ganda stories" the editors
point out, but they have
been chosen out of the small
number of genuine stories
that managed somehow to
be written truly and to
evade the censorship. Some
are by Communist or fellow
traveller authors and be-
cause of this are perhaps
even more significant than
they might otherwise be-"
Strong Indictments
Certainly no one could gain
an ounce of admiration for
Hungary's totalitarian regime
from any of these stories.
Some of them, under the
cloak of realistic impressions
of life today in that harassed
country, are strong indict-
ments of the Soviet-imposed
government.
The art of the short story
is best shown in this group
in two stories by Tiber Derry.
He was already a party menu
Der at the time Of the Com
munist dictatorship in Hun
gary in 1919. Later he was a
leader in the revolt Of the
intellectuals. He was expelled
from the party and later REIN
stated, and somehow has
maintained his literary indie
pendence in his books. He
is now "a.
The opening story, Tabor
Dery's Love-" tells of a mans
release from prison after
serving seven years for al
legged political deviation. His
return to the open air of
Budapest is described telling
ly. He finds his wife and
young son still living in the
same spot, but the govern
ment has made them share
their apartment with two
other families, combining
themselves to one room and a
share of a.communal kitchen
and bath The mans bewil-
derment at the new life in
Budapest and his reunion
with his family are touch
ingly real.
Boss Spy
Mr.. Dery's other story,
Behind the Brick Wall" de-
scrihes the pSychosomatic
suffering of a straw boss in a
factory. He is for.ed to act
as a government spy and in
form on workers who steal
bits of leather for soles they
can't afford to buy or are
guilty of other derelictions of
the stringent code Of conduct.
Some of the other stories
are realistic touches of life
concealed in folklore or al
legory.
AS the editors sum up:
"These stories tell more
about the feeling of life I'M
der communism than a dozen
political or economic studies"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
CRIME AND MYSTERY
By BETTY MILES
Star stan Writer

Mark Ruthven, a professor at
the college and an authority
on Collins, solves the mystery
with the help of visiting
friend DR.. Gideon Fell. A
clever reader-it was hind
sight for us-can spot the
murderer in a scene in which
honest clues are deferen-
TALLY handed out like pieces
of a calling card.
ONE FOR THE ROAD. BY
Frederic Brown. tE. P. Dut-
ton d. Co; $685.
Murder was unusual in
Mayville, Ariz.. but then it is
in most small towns. No one
knew much about Amy Wag-
goner alive except her love of
liquor. but everyone knew she
had been stabbed to death in
the La Fonda Motel. Bob
Splitter, reporter for the
weekly Sun, knew Amy was
spending beyond her alimouy
the question was. where
did it come from? Mr..
Browns feeling for the at
mosphere and people of a
small town gives dimension
to a good detective story.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
ARTISTS AND EXHIBITIONS
SpecioI Print Show
Has Music as Theme
BY FLORENCE S. BERGMAN
star Art Critic

Original Prints Music" presents theme with varia-
lions at the IFA Galleries, 1928 Connecticut avenue NV
through week of the Is woodcus wood engravnes
etchngs and metal engravngs color Autographs and ser
graphs by noted pntmakes depict and interpret musicians
playing various instruments in techniques equal variety
Of the artists have exhibited in national print
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17

on others plus his failure to
use the powers of his Office,
Mr.. Childs reasons, must
mark Dwight Eisenhower
there he is compared to
James Buchanan as a weak
President.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
BLACK MAIL. By

BLACK MAIL. BY Doris
Disney doubleday and
Co.. $2.95.
Postal inspector David
Madden comes to the aid of
Lucia Ruyter, a pretty, cap
able girl whose job in the
bank is threatened by a
series of obscene anonymous
letters to her boss. The
motives that move the hand
that holds the poison pen
are Interestingly explored.
B. NJ.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17

Marcus Aemilius LepiduS, the
odd man out, the sissy in the
crowd, the harrumphing pol
itician whose counterpart is
not hard to find today.
Marcus secret weapon in
the turbulent Rome Of 40
BIC. is his wise wife Junia.
Junia, the noblest Roman of
them all in this chronicle,
has no illusions about her
well-born, dim Witted mate.
She knows he has been
brought up not to fear
death, but, "he was afraid of
so many other things, the
public opinion of his equals,
the hatred of the mob, the
displeasure of the gods, pow
erty, disgrace, insigniflcance.
that in effect he often rea-
Soned like a coward" Marcus
himself put it another way:
IF he did nothing, he could
do no wrong"
The Front Man
Junia guides him right at
the critical moment when
Caesar crosses the Rubicon.
Marcus ends up as master of
the horse for the clement,
worldly dictator. When Cae-
sar falls, Marcus lands on his
feet again. When he finds
himself in the field against
Mark Anthony, it looks as
though he will have the OPP
portunity to die as a Roman
should. But Mark Anthony
and Octavius Caesar agree
that Marcus, though no SOL
der, is in fact the indispens-
able front man as they pre-
pare to carve UP the whole
world between them.
For the orgy of blood
letting and plumber they have
in mind, he will unquestion-
ably provide an air Of re-
spectability.
1t is a matter of moments
for them to talk him into
numbering their e n m e S,
known and suspected. Callow
cold-blooded Octavius Caesar
points out that his Uncle
Julius had signed his own
death warrant by pardoning
his enemies. Mark Antony,
a free-booting libertine. needs
money for his troops. Marcus
soon sees that prescription
can serve a useful political
purpose. For Roman liberty
and for Marcus, it is the be-
ginning of the end.
Choice Reading
Mr.. Duggan's bare-bones
manner, his dry expository
style and colloquial dialogue
are excellently suited to these
CORY matters. although some
of the later schemes and
counter-Schemes tax these
Assets too heavily. He is at
z hest in the richly human
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
Note to Artists

Because of inventory re-
organization, the first in
seven years, The Artists
Mart will not receive new
work for jurying until after
September is.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
AHiIorious Picture
OfAncient Rome
BY MARY McGRORY
Star stan Writer

Alfred Duggan brings to the historical novel the I'M
fashionable conviction that the figures of the past
only human after all Casting cold eye on the tri-
umvirate of ancient Rome he two murderers and
uddy-duddy THREE'S COMPANY Coward, Mccain:
SO $50 is sardonicay comic picture with closeup of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17

is estranged and has forsaken
him. In this he finds he is
mistaken.
French justice is a little
different from ours, at least in
method and administration.
but you'll find yourself hop
ing justice win prevail. Does
1t? That's the faulty drawn
issue. It's a story beautifully
evoked.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
Made Captive

The author does not wonder,
then. that it was easy for
him to become the captive
hero" of the men in his party
who wished in January. 1858,
to re-establish the normalcy
of Warren G. Harding"
Here we have a picture Of
a hero President who him.
self has a weakness for he
roes: There was ex-Secretary
of the Treasury George
Humphrey, who is supposed
to have told the President,
IF anyone asks you about
money tell them to go
and see George" - which
is Just what Mr.. Eisen-
hover did. And John Foster
Dulles. whom the President
regards as the greatest Secre-
tary of State in history and
in whose hands Mr.. Eisen-
hover has largely placed the
fsN of the free world.
bis almost total reliance
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17


Co.; $4.750
Mr.. Childs can reach this
judgment without finding the
strong soldier-weak Presi-
dent guilty of anything more
serious than being as mortal
as the rest of us, a finding
that will not come as a shock
to nearly so many as 1t
might have two years ago.
Faith in Heroes
The author never says so
in so many words. but the
implication is clear that If
there is any blame to be
placed for what he calls the
erosion" of the presidency
under Mr.. Eisenhower. it
must be borne by the Amer
lean celebrates simple faith
in heroes. In the case of Mr.,
Eisenhower, it was the faith
that, after his eminently sue
cessful crusade in Europe,
each moment of great travail
domestic or foreign-might
be met with a crusade.
Mr.. Childs gives us first a
sketch of the Abilene boy
from the wrong side of
the tracks. his early family
life, his entry into the Army,
and then the endless tours
of duty. the military life dur
ing times the Nation forgot
it had a military. 1t was a
dull life, full of minor diSap-
pointments, but it taught a
man to answer when duty
calls.
And it is this devotion to
the notion of duty that lead
the soldier into politics and
onto grounds Of combat not
Of his own choosing. In 1910
he preferred command of an
armored regiment to staff
duty, but he was made assist
ant chief of the War Plans
Division after Pearl Harbor,
Once overseas, he longed to
lead a battalion into a "bul-
let battle" but he was stuck
with top command and it's
accompanying politics.
He Did Not Choose
From the end Of the war
until 1851 he repeatedly
made it plain that he had
no desire to be the presiden-
tial candidate of either party.
But there were millions who
were clamoring for Ike"
and TO- Ike" this was duty
calling again.
From the beginning he was
above politics. This and the
narrow "civicS-textbook" in
depreciation of his role which
he brought to the White
House, Mr.. Childs believes,
has been the real source of
much of Dwight Eisenhower's
troubles. 1t is this that the
author blames for the Presl-
dents equalization to the late
Senator Mccarthy, his spec
tator approach to the great
problem of school integra-
ton, and generally his reluc-
lance to act positively with
the same kind of Imagination
that he might summon to a
battlefield of total war.
No other President, as Mr..
Childs observes, ever had so
little political experience. He
writes: What he brought to
his enormous task was a
simple faith in an earlier
America, an America that
had all but vanished in a
series of cataclysmic events
that he had known only from
the limited perspective of the
soldier"
Mo6o TO nfsxra
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
Eisenhower Is Seen
As a Hero in Fetters
BY DAVID KOONCE
Star stan Writer

1t is doubtful that any critic of the Eisenhower presi
dency however objective could have found publisher
few months ago for book that concludes that Mr. Essen
hover has been weak President
This is the Judgment of Marquis Chds the syndicated
Washington columns in his EISENHOWER: CAPTIVE
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17
Lote Summer Fiction
Offers Wide Variety
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES
star Book Critic

This weeks geanngs Of late summer books offer at
least wide variety in subject matter We have collection
stories and sketches from contemporary Hungary which
managed get themselves written despite the Red
ship There's unusual novel of adoescent ghood aimed
decidedly at adult readers FINALLY have an Od-be
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17

seemed to me better than the
last work ! saw by him.
Mariana Eckert's large still
life fills its space we'll, but
in plangent blues and warm
violet. not a pleasing COM
bination to some Of Jus. !
like Samuel Bookatz quiet
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-17

Bored! BY Dorothy L. Say
ers? Yes, if the book is THE
FIVE RED HERRINGS"
Harper and Bros, $500.
No, if it is STRONG POL
SON." also Harpers. $3.50.
Their reissuing brings to six
the total number of Lord
Peter Wimsey novels back in
print in the new edition.
THE Five Red Herrings,'
first published in this coun-
try as Suspicious Charac-
ters,' explores in such detail
the alibis of the innumerable
suspects in the murder of an
offensive painter that We
were shocked to find our
selves quitting in mid-time-
table and callously skipping
to the end. Strong Poison"
on the other hand, is a truly
fine story, in which Lord
Peters whimsy takes him to
the defense of Miss Harriet
Vane. Miss Vane. Lord Peter
finds, did not poison her
lover, but someone else most
ingeniously, did.
49,
THE DEAD MANS KNOCK.
BY John Dickson Carr
CHarper and Bros, $3.50.
A wonderful story and a
first-rate. locked-door mys-
cry, The Dead Mans
Knock" also glows with Mr..
Cars obvious affection for
18th century buildings and
atmosphere still alive today.
1t looked as If the murdeie e.
had used a method outlined
by Wilkie Collins in a letter
to Charles Dickens a century
before when he killed mys-
teriQus Rose Lestrange in
hei cottage near mythical
Qu MS College in Virginia.