Evening Star Newspaper, October 18, 1931, Page 98

16 L4 THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D, C, OCTOBER 18, 1931, —_— A URRENT fiction i looking up. Noth- ing loss. Woll within the year seven first novcls have won favor from gerly and o received the accolade of choice {rcm Bcok L-ague and Literary Guild. The situation looks hopeful. As if, maybe, the excessive heat into which this particular Summer plung:d hed, upon taking leave, car- ried off some of tie nudism, the eroticism and many arqther scgyy mottiad “ism” that lolled by the sea and loafcd under the sun as “Sum- mer reading.” In the n-w coun. two novels come from Eng- land—"Hatter's Custle” and “The Garden.” The remaining five ar2 homegrown, “Brothers in the West " i Harpe: prize novel. “One of the best,” so the \ders in our book room say. “The Opening of a Door” is a wise and in-seeing pic- ture of family tyran: “God in the Straw Pen” ‘is a drama of = religious “revival” in its release of suppressed emotions. “Cane Juice” is a beau- tiful story of Southern Louisiana, its “Cajua” element, the dying sugar industry and college life_ the three co nated into true growth by virtue of their rtial unity. And here is the latest of the “big 4 QHE LADY WHO CAME TO STAY. By R. E. Spencer. vork: Alfred A. Knopf. Also the Bock of America. STRANGE and a strong one. Not an easy combi to effect. Four aging sis- ters, spinsters all, have sent this author upon a far journcy. “Into the supernatural,”” one says. Rath it seems to me, beyond ths natural. N¢ it. Some day we may have caught up with this matter. Then, strange still perhaps, it may b2, but on the human level of happenings and, therefore, understandable. To get back to the four women who source this adventure of the mind. Here, at work, are the various forms and degrees of frustration that beset the unmated woman, Solitude cf the soul. An immecdiate world, but an unknown one. Natural impulses toward its magnified promises of fuliillment. Instinctive silences and concealmerts, xculpatory in nature. Years of this. The us old house itself growing grim and auste houses do grow to be old in she image of th own ancient families. To this honschold comes the widow of a ‘brother with her little daughter. A beautifil womar, an artist cf distinction, a musician of power and in ion. This woman becomes the spark that fires. Her own partakings of life, her beauty and ch 1, these press release springs in these captiv o Lie. This is, in effect, the story. The rea of each to this alien, and enviable, p ; is, indeed, a mastery of deep clairv The turmoil, secret and guarded, is of ontous significance, since it is so securc in a ality. Out of the situation comes, gradually, the immemorial struggle of good and evil, rcduced to terms of modern life and to commen ways of meeting its daily de=- mand. Ard, 1 the silent strife has almost ‘reached disa tor, the lovely woman in her re- mote quarters wceuld send soft music stealing out into hall and rooms till it wrought peace and quietude. Time moved on within this house of so momentous an occupancy. The beautiful lady died. One cnd another of the sisters died. Yet their relrascd spirits lingered. And the lady herself remained. She had come to stav. ©n nights of str in the old place, nights of danger to the little girl, maybe, soft music, wan- dering, intervencd a the menace turned aside. The tale, you sce, is quite outside the office of scale and yardstick. Compelling, neverthe- less, by its be ;- and sustained integrity of purpose and n. Most impressive in its reach of thought d imagination. Persistent in its attack upon those given to trying the doors of life, to beating upon the windows of the ture, to lu y in espial upon the world of things—just there, out of sight, but there neverthele Finally, ; are all dead, save one of the sisters. Yet old house is still active with them all. What to do? The author appears to -have put himself into a close corner of no escape. Wrong! A haunting story of clear originality and rower. A first novel. An American, occupied with pursuits far away from that of imaginative writing. A caring author. A strong and mosv unsual creaticn. * THE FLOWER OF LIFE. By Thomas Burke, author of “Limehouse Nights,” etc. Bos- tan: Little, Brown & Co. ##f IFE is a novel drecamed by God in a gar- ! den and never written"—Thomas Burke talking. “We are its characters, and our tale .48 never fully told. Because of this we are fretful. At the end we feel that this is mot the end, that w2 have not fulfilled ourselves. But it may be that the only fulfillment askcd of us, scholar and saint and simple, is that we shall catch the fragrance of that garden, and find it beautiful. It may be that there is but one sin that forever shuts the sinner from the friendship of God—to mock the garden of rose and thorn and call it mire.” This is the story of Jane, good little Jane. Discovered in the London slum from which Thomas Burke has peopled his own world of art, littlé Jane meets us at the door of this tale as she is setting out for the work house. And the work house may be a very good house, indeed. So +he little old woman nods and agrees as she steps upon her sprightly and consenting way. Such a story! So terrible. So tenderly beautiful. So real. So utter a denial of all the stuff about “reward of merit,” of‘all the other made-up things wita which a part of the world seeks to coerce the rest of it into its own way of thinking, of coing. Good little Jane! Doing her small work— homely tasks of washing and scrubbing and waiting upon—as if these were fine things entrusted to her kecping. Earning a little, very Jistle. Then, a better place—and & man. A tidy house for a day, a year, 3ad the good man geparts for better pickings. Ne¢t, though, till he aneney cten vave toon 2%~ Seven First Novels Win Special Favor—Five by American Authors and the 1wo Others From England—Thomas Burke’s Book. has left a child. Men are so genercus in such bestowings. And the years go by. Jane, oddly, is not getting younger. The girl is getting older—old enough, indeed, to_ go out and find a baby somewhere for herself and for Jane. Everything is for Jane. The work grows scantier and less rewarding and—but, why go on with the story of good little Jane! Jane’s all right. She is on her way to the work house! It is nothing to say that this is the best, or the worst, or any otker such thing, about any story by Thomas Burke. Here is a tale to tear you and at the same time to enchant you with the austere beauty of it, with the un- speakable truth of it. THE GREAT MOUTHPIECE. By Gene Fow- ler, author of “Shoe the Wild Mare” and “Trumpet in the Dust.” Covici Friede, New York. ONDITIONS just before and after the World War may be blamed for bringing about such a state of affairs as faced William Jeseph Fallon, “The Great Mouthpiece,” when he decided to practice law in New York City. The younz lawyer, a graduate of Fordham and later an assistant prosecuting attorney in a State community, decided that he was more fitted for the defense than for the prosecution. Therefore, he established his headquarters on Broadway. His career was not a long one, as careers in law go, but it Wwas scintillating; he became the toast of the Great White Way; it seemed impossible to convict a person who was defended by “The Great Mouthpiece”; his list of court victories was impres- sive. And, like many men who are unable to stand up under such success, Fallon started on the downward path while yet a young man. He was indicted on the charge of tampering with jurors. Efforts were made to disbar "him, and vet he came forth a victor in his personal battles. However, his clients dropped away; his health failed, and his life was cut short. Gene Fowler, the author, should have entire credit for this intensely interest- ing volume. He has woven a story which pictures the post-war conditions of New York City as no other writer has attempted. The dozens of anecdotes con=- cerning well known Broad- way characters might have formed a book in them- selves, for they are well done and typical of the period. And the story of Fallon cannot be equaled if one turns to modern fic- tion. The gay and yet tragic picture of the young lawyer is a portrayal which should find a prominent place in the literature of the day. Fallon's career was a daring one, as ro- bust in court activities and Broadway life as the tales of fifteenth century pica- roons. From reading Fow- ler's book one gains the impression that the young lawyer should have lived in the swaggering days of the “Three Musketeers.” C.E. N. to re-embody, in effect, the beginnings of Balti- more and its first hundred years of growth and accomplishments in both the individual civic sense and as a part of the Colonial system. A book of innumerable details. A vivid pic- ture. Of deep interest to the locality itself as well as of excellent substance to the subject of history. A clear biographic effect is produced by the intimacy existing between the historian and her subject, by her zeal in pursuing the work. Voluminous, and possibly not perfectly integrated as a whole, “Old Baltimore” stands in its highest service as a valuable source book from which more than one deeply illuminat- ing study of various aspects of the central theme will be drawn. Invaluable are the pur- poses and efforts of local historical bodies in contributing to the authentic and important body of general history. This particular col- lection, so full and so well illustrated, is a positive case in point of such good service, BENEDICT ARNOLD: Patriot and Traitor. By Oscar Sherwin. Illustrated. New York: The Century Co. S knowledge grows, as means of its pursuit are amplified, fresh mtgrpremlions fol- low, new meanings often take the place cof older ones. This is true in every department of in- vestigation and research. Particularly is it true in the domain of history. More than one important fact, or set of facts, of history has been made to face about upon a quite new fronting from the one long presented and ac- ~ To the Man Who Knows Its Origin Every Word Presents a Picture The Punishment of Tantalus Is Immortalized in Our Word Tantalize Greek mythology records the story of King Tantalus who seriously offended the gods and was punished in an extraordinary manner. He was placed in the midst of a lake whose waters reached his chin, but receded whenever he attempted to allay his thirst. Over his head hung branches laden with choice fruit, which likewise receded whenever he stretched out his hand in an attempt to satisfy his hunger. Tantalus became the symbol of teasing and torment, and his name is the origin of our word tantalize. When we know the source of the word, what a clear picture we have of its meaning! This is the way in which you come to understand the background and essential meanings of English words when you look them up in cepted. Many a time, if positive reversal has not been effected, such modified judgments have supplanted earlier ones as to change na- tional and international attitudes and cone tacts. So, new studies of old records and ace countings are at intervals imperative. In this study of Benedict Arnold, the author has no radical pronouncement to make. The man is still a patriot, still a traitor. Yet the psychological aspect of the man, of the case, is something in the nature of a revelation of the human, not of one human, but of all of them. The subtle and surprising fellowship that good and evil may set up in a single personality, honesty and its opposite close fellows at mo- ments of stress, the saint and the sinner clasp- ing hands in some comon agreement. This general truth comes out in special point and thrust with Mr. Sherwin's analysis of Benedict Arnold beset by the outer circumstance of his immediate part in the Colonial life and in the war. Beside such a revealing disclosure the author makes a re-survey of the period from the present standpoint of historical re-evale uations through a better seizure of its human content in general, and of pivotal characters in particular. HUNTING SHIRT. By Mary Johnston, au- thor of “The Great Valley,” etc. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. IONEERS of the present are, in the main, sky pilots exploring wide air spaces. The surface pioneers—the Daniel Boones, the cove ered wagons, the Oregon trails, these are so far to the rear as to be well on the way to where complete indifference and neglect wait for them. It is not good to forget the begine Continued on Eighteenth Page Eros Bookplates; Ultra Modern Beautiful wood cuts: two colors. Identify your books by pasting inside covers. Can be used for Xmas, New Year cards with your name printed. Make fine gifts Send 5c IA:LCS:MDOXGIS 25 for soc Desk S-T9 EROS BOOKPLATES 1609 N. BROAD ST., PHILA., PA. WEBSTER'S NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY The “Supreme Authority” Not only do these word stories make the most interesting reading, but to know them will give you an effectiveness in speaking and writing that can come in no other way. When you know the origins and the essential meanings of words, as they are presented in The Merriam-Webster, your own use of words will become more forceful, accurate, and colorful. See The MERRIAM -WEBSTER At These Stores The Merriam-Webster gives you the whole word power of the English language. It is a library OLD BALTIMORE. By ‘Annie Leakin Sioussat. Published under the auspices of the Mary- land Society of Colonial Dames of America in honor of the author. Illustrated. New York: The Macmillan Co. PACKED with incident is this story of old Balti- more Town during the first century of its existence. Nowadays mechanical aids to research and recordings are so varied in form and perfect in action as to dim one’s sense of the wearing industry and patience that went into this particular historic service. Records scattered here and there, family traditions, neighbor- hood customs, individual achievements, old letters, business accounts revealing substance and method of a host of transactions, social events lingering in recital from year to year, from period to period—all this and much besides stand here as witness to a service of such scope and point as in one volume, its type matter equivalent to a 15-volume encyclopedia. Its encyclopedic information makes it a general question-answerer on all subjects. In its 2,700 pages there are 452,000 entries, including thousands of new words; 12,000 biographical entries; 32,000 geograph- ical subjects; 100 valuable tables; over 6,000 illustrations. Rely on the testimony of Presidents and Department Heads of the leading Universities ; the indorsement of hundreds of Supreme Court Judges; the judgment of Librarians all over the country who choose the MERRIAM-WEBSTER f{or their own use. Wm. Ballantyne & Sons Brentano's John Byrne & Company Send for Free Booklet |s. k... 50ns Co. of Word Stories Paul Peailman A number of these fascinating stories about the origins of words are presented in an interesting illustrated booklet which we will be glad to send Woodward & Lothrop ou free on request, together with full information about The erriam-Webster. Jugt mail the coupon. No cost or obligation. N\ 6. & C. Merriam Co. ez G. & C. MERRIAM CO., Springfield, Mass. se send me free your booklet **Surprising Origins of English Words” and full information about Webster's New International Dictionary. (Wash. Star, 10-18-31) Newe L — Street and Number. (o7, TR NS | |