On Newfound River. By Thomas Nelson Page. New York: Chas. Scribner’s Sons. Price, $1.50.
Mr. Page, whose place among the foremost of living American authors no one disputes, has given us, in “On Newfound River,” a charming love story. It is not so long or so elaborate as “Red Rock,” but the author says of it: “It does not pretend to be a novel. It is, on its face a love story of simple country life in Old Virginia ... the incidents are those which might have taken place in a rural community before the war where the gentry ruled in a sort of manorial manner, and their poorer neighbors bore a relation to them, part retainer, part friend.” The illustrations are by John Edwin Jackson, a young Southern artist who has risen to the front rank in the illustrating world by the merit and sympathetic quality of his work.
The Amulet. By Charles Egbert Craddock. New York: Macmillan & Co. Price, $1.50.
The history and characters of the Tennessee Mountains seem to have become the peculiar property of Miss Murfree, who is never so happy as when in this particular field. In her latest book, which, like “The Story of Old Fort Loudon,” deals with the early settlement of this state, she gives a stirring history of the vicissitudes of the early settlers, and the terrible vengeance of the Cherokees. As the time antedates the Revolution by thirteen years the heroine is a lovely, highborn English girl, while the hero is a sturdy young product of colonial training and education. While it is an engrossing love story, it is also a distinct contribution to American romantic history.