THE ODD NUMBER.
Thirteen Tales by Guy de Maupassant. The Translation by Jonathan Sturges. An Introduction by Henry James. pp. xviii., 226. 16mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1 00.
The tales included in "The Odd Number" are little masterpieces, and done into very clear, sweet, simple English.—William Dean Howells.
There is a charming individuality in each of these fascinating little tales; something elusive and subtle in every one, something quaint or surprising, which catches the fancy and gives a sense of satisfaction like that felt when one discovers a rare flower in an unexpected place. I predict that "The Odd Number" will soon be found lying in the corner of the sofa or on the table in the drawing-rooms of cultivated women everywhere.—Margaret E. Sangster.
Masterpieces.... Nothing can exceed the masculine firmness, the quiet force, of his own style, in which every phrase is a close sequence, every epithet a paying piece, and the ground is completely cleared of the vague, the ready-made, and the second-best. Less than any one to-day does he beat the air, more than any one does he hit out from the shoulder.... He came into the literary world, as he has himself related, under the protection of the great Flaubert. This was but a dozen years ago—for Guy de Maupassant belongs, among the distinguished Frenchmen of his period, to the new generation.—Henry James.
As a rule I do not take kindly to translations. They are apt to resemble the originals as canned or dried fruits resemble fresh. But Mr. Sturges has preserved flavor and juices in this collection. Each story is a delight. Some are piquant, some pathetic—all are fascinating.—Marion Harland.
What pure and powerful outlines, what lightness of stroke, and what precision; what relentless truth, and yet what charm! "The Beggar," "La Mère Sauvage," "The Wolf," grim as if they had dropped out of the mediæval mind; "The Necklace," with its applied pessimism; the tremendous fire and strength of "A Coward"; the miracle of splendor in "Moonlight"; the absolute perfection of a short story in "Happiness"—how various the view, how daring the touch! What freshness, what invention, and what wit! They are beautiful and heart-breaking little masterpieces, and "The Odd Number" makes one feel that Guy de Maupassant lays his hand upon the sceptre which only Daudet holds.—Harriet Prescott Spofford.
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The above work sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the price.
MARÍA:
A South American Romance. By Jorge Isaacs. Translated by Rollo Ogden. An Introduction by Thomas A. Janvier. pp. xvi., 302. 16mo, Cloth, Ornamental, $1 00. (The Odd Number Series.)
The great forests of cotton-wood, palms, and other tropical plants, the almost impassable rivers, the rich flowers which seem to spread their fragrance over every page, make a fascinating background to a story of tender sentiment.—Boston Journal.
Jorge Isaacs has given such a picture of home life, and of pure, almost ideal love in a Spanish American home, as to prove him a poetical genius and certainly a most charming romancer.... Simple and unaffected in style, yet with a sublime pathos, it is without doubt worthy to be ranked with "Paul and Virginia" among the classics.—Presbyterian Banner, Pittsburg.
A treasure in romance which should at once take a well-deserved place in the front rank of modern fiction.—North American, Phila.
It bears all the evidence of truthful portrayal of the Spanish American home, and the story is told so pleasingly and ingeniously as to make the chapters delightful.—Chicago Inter-Ocean.
Distinguished by a freshness and simplicity which recall some of the French sentimental novelists of the eighteenth century, and especially Bernardin St. Pierre.—N.Y. Tribune.
No novel reader will fail to read this beautiful story, which should find its way wherever the beautiful and the pure in literature are respected and loved.—Catholic Review, N.Y.
The charm of the book is its simplicity and purity.... The author is a literary artist; his style is clear and winning, his thought stimulating, his purpose healthful. The story of love is told with much sweetness and pathos, while the descriptive passages display singular strength and sympathy for nature.—Jewish Messenger, N.Y.
"María" is read and admired through all of South America. It would be difficult to find an educated South American who is not familiar with this idyllic story.—Judge José Alfonso, Chilian Delegate to the Pan-American Congress.
María: Novela Americana is one of the most charming stories I have ever read, and worthy the leading author of any country.—W.H. Bishop, in Scribner's Magazine.
Aside altogether from the broad glimpses it gives of a life whereof we Northern Americans know absolutely nothing, it is a beautiful story, sad in its ending, but free from any tinge of coarseness or sensationalism, pure, sweet, warm with human love and tenderness.—Chicago Times.
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The above work will be sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the price.
BY CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER.
A LITTLE JOURNEY IN THE WORLD. A Novel. pp. iv., 396. Post 8vo, Half Leather, $1 50.
STUDIES IN THE SOUTH AND WEST, with Comments on Canada. pp. iv., 484. Post 8vo, Half Leather, $1 75.
A witty, instructive book, as brilliant in its pictures as it is warm in its kindness; and we feel sure that it is with a patriotic impulse that we say that we shall be glad to learn that the number of its readers bears some proportion to its merits and its power for good.—N.Y. Commercial Advertiser.
Sketches made from studies of the country and the people upon the ground.... They are the opinions of a man and a scholar without prejudices, and only anxious to state the facts as they were.... When told in the pleasant and instructive way of Mr. Warner the studies are as delightful as they are instructive.—Chicago Inter-Ocean.
Perhaps the most accurate and graphic account of these portions of the country that has appeared, taken all in all.... It is a book most charming—a book that no American can fail to enjoy, appreciate, and highly prize.—Boston Traveller.
THEIR PILGRIMAGE. Richly Illustrated by C.S. Reinhart. pp. viii., 364. Post 8vo, Half Leather, $2 00.
Mr. Warner's pen-pictures of the characters typical of each resort, of the manner of life followed at each, of the humor and absurdities peculiar to Saratoga, or Newport, or Bar Harbor, as the case may be, are as good-natured as they are clever. The satire, when there is any, is of the mildest, and the general tone is that of one glad to look on the brightest side of the cheerful, pleasure-seeking world with which he mingles.—Christian Union, N.Y.
Mr. Reinhart's spirited and realistic illustrations are very attractive, and contribute to make an unusually handsome book. We have already commented upon the earlier chapters of the text; and the happy blending of travel and fiction which we looked forward to with confidence did, in fact, distinguish this story among the serials of the year.—N.Y. Evening Post.
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BY W.D. HOWELLS.
A HAZARD OF NEW FORTUNES. Illustrated. 8vo, Paper, 75 cents; 12mo, Cloth, 2 vols., $2 00.
MODERN ITALIAN POETS. Essays and Versions. With Portraits. 12mo, Half Cloth, $2 00.
A portfolio of delightsome studies among the Italian poets; musings in a golden granary full to the brim with good things.... We venture to say that no acute and penetrating critic surpasses Mr. Howells in true insight, in polished irony, in effective and yet graceful treatment of his theme, in that light and indescribable touch that lifts you over a whole sea of froth and foam, and fixes your eye, not on the froth and foam, but on the solid objects, the true heart and soul of the theme.—Critic, N.Y.
ANNIE KILBURN. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50.
Mr. Howells has certainly never given us in one novel so many portraits of intrinsic interest. Annie Kilburn herself is a masterpiece of quietly veracious art—the art which depends for its effect on unswerving fidelity to the truth of Nature.... It certainly seems to us the very best book that Mr. Howells has written.—Spectator, London.
APRIL HOPES. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50.
Mr. Howells never wrote a more bewitching book. It is useless to deny the rarity and worth of the skill that can report so perfectly and with such exquisite humor all the fugacious and manifold emotions of the modern maiden and her lover.—Philadelphia Press.
THE MOUSE-TRAP, and Other Farces. Post 8vo, Cloth, $1 00.
Mr. Howells's gift of lively appreciation of the humors that lie on the surface of conduct and conversation, and his skill in reproducing them in literary form, make him peculiarly successful in his attempts at graceful, delicately humorous dialogue.... He can make his characters talk delightful badinage, or he can make them talk so characteristically as to fill the reader with silent laughter over their complete unconsciousness of their own absurdity.—Boston Advertiser.
Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.
Any of the above works sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the price.