"THE CHARL ED CIRCLE" But I'
a won
(By L. E. W.) ing an
"The Charmed Circle," a first novel make
by Edward Alden Jewell, is a blithe circle!
volume, delicately sophisticated, yet At ti
pervaded with an ingenuous delight. what t
neth's
It is a comedy of adventure, the ad- too get
ventures of Kenneth, an American boy, the sp
living with his elderly, sentimental colors
guardian in a Paris pension. ' most
Kenneth is a worldly young seraph, whilec
with a magnetism for friends and mys- The
throug
teries. He has a most catholic col- fine pe
lection of chance acquaintances. For Kennet
instance, the Spanish fortune-teller, cious
Cassienda, is a bit of grotesquerie. of Edg
while Cyprienne, singer at the Opera, with
is a beautiful figured of romance. As vidual
for mysteries, he discovers an almost Bros
incredible number of them. There is guardi.
thread upon thread of plot, skilfully and M
woven into a pretty tapestry of enter- sure, s
tainment. pussy.
bi ffigures
The book takes its title from a bit of Hunter
Cyprienne's philosophy: minor
"Yes," mused Cyprienne, as though ly, the
pursuing a theme which had been in affable
her thoughts, "there seem to be lines in resE
Madam
crossing and crossing, like a curious Curtis,
deft little plant. Until this year I've Chicag
never believed. in these queer coinci- gaiety
dences. But I'm coming to look at pauvre
everything quite differently. Strange to her
The
and wonderful things do happen. . . Tse
ide, Mi
I'd come almost to think there was ing to
nothing miraculous left in the world. spent;
THE MICHIGAN DAILY MAGAZINE SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1921
Sicily. In addition -to his European But the fact that the new writers
travels, he had interesting and valu- are not all -following the alluring
A u d o a-ble experience on the stage, both in strain of one piper is a healthy sign,
his home town and on tour vith Louis for it shows that they are writing
James, and later with Donald Robert- that which is nearest to them, that
a beginning to see it's all such son. He decided, however, that writ- which they are best fitted to write.
derful little plan. Lines cross- ing rather than drama was the better All this Is a rather lengthy prologue
d crossing, and our destinies to field for him, and upon his return to to a review of still another first novel,
up the pattern-A charmed America he went into newspaper work, but it was prompted by the fact that
" was an associate editor of "Every- 'The Blood of the Conquerors' (Knopf)
mes the little plan seems some- body's Magazine" and afterward Sun- by Harvey Fergusson is different from
oo deft and deliberate. Ken- day editor of the New York Tribune all the other fall products mentionetl.
clever machinations are -aided from which position he resigned in Mr. Ferguson does not use the harsh
nerously by kindly fortune, but 1920, and went to Bermuda to devote naturalism of John Dos Passos nor
irit of daring whimsy which his entire time to writing, yet the polychromatic romanticism of
all the book makes even the Horace Fish, although his subject
amazing coincidence credible could be easily adapted to either. He
one reads. 'THE BLOOD OF THE CONQUERORS' tells his story tersely and convincing-
characterization is excellent AND SOME OTHER FIRST NOVELS ly in a well modulated realistic man-
hout, evidencing the author's (By R. D. S.) ner.
rception and keen psychology. He has created for this central
th is made an unusually preco- The first novels that have been He as c hiscetral
launched this fall are only less sur- figure an admirable character, a man
youth, a sort of distant cousin
yrh, Jepso "Adisal Tir,"hpsing I numberthan in merit. Thopossessing 'that bearing at once proud
;ar Jepson's "Admirable Tinker,~pt tbyt.bterpbihighue and unself -conscious which is call'ed
suggestion, too,. of Walpole's punt cut by the better publishing houses adusl-esiu hc scle
y,"getn, the, Is distnol di-have nearly all been good and at least aristocratic', a lover of the outdoors.
it'; yethe i ditincly idi-Such is Ramon Delcasar, a descend-
and very much alive y two of them have created considerable
sensation. To date the list includes ent of a noble Mexican family. Del-
nley, the absurd, susceptible 'Erik Dorn,' and 'Three Soldiers,' The casar has been educated in a St. Louis
an, is especially well drawn. Charmed Circle,' 'The Beginning of law school, and his tastes are those
rs. Brathers is portrayed with Wisdom,' and 'The Great Way,' while of the 'gringo' who invades his terri-
atiric strokes as a mid-Victorian John Farrar, Marry Hanson, tory and, by methods unknown to Del-
Inoh addition tortheHromanticcasa
In addition to theromanticLoving, and several others of the casar, begins to gain control. The
of Cyprienne and The Mighty younger critics admit to hoarding author does not use his theme as an
, there are vaious interesting manuscripts which they hope soon to excuse to point out the injustice of
characters, sketched adequate- see In print, race prejudice. He accepts this con-
ugh lightly,-Madame Bernard A striking point in this list of dition as an inevitable state of af-
, with opinions and ammunition maiden efforts is the dissimilarity not fairs and builds up a poignant little
erve, Monsieur Bernard, whom only In the choice of subject matter, tragedy around it.
e didn't take seriously, Miss but in the style and viewpoint of the Ramon fails, of course, not only I
"an artist with ideals,.from writers. 'Erik Dorn' is mostly ex- love but in business as well. There
o," Jacques, given to night pressionism, 'Three Soldiers' lop-sid- is a final recourse open to him-an
and subtle sarcaem, and ls
ed naturalism' 'The Charmed Circle' outdoor existence. He accepts his
Eleonord, awkwardly devoted and 'The Great Way' picturesque ro- failure philosophically and turns to
first American gentleman. mance, while 'The Beginning of Wis- a deserted ranch belonging to his
author was born in Grand Rap- dom' might be roughly classed as family, here to spend, presumably, the
chigan, in 1888. Instead of go- colorful realism. All of which shows remainder of his days.
college, he went abroad and the danger of generalizing about the Ferguson has combined in his novel
a year in Paris and Rome and trend of our fiction. However, gener- a good quantity of action, a. beautiful
ilizations are tempting and it might love story, and excellent character
be interesting to note that, through development-all written in a most
the three most important of these readable manner. If I were -asked
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novels, runs the motif, now low and for a new book which is entertaining
merely suggested, now loud and deaf- and at the same time short, I should
ening, that has marked so much of certainly recommend 'The Blood of
our modern literature-iconoclasm. the Conquerors.'
*1
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