20–7728
This volume of short stories opens with a memoir of the author, who was killed in 1918. As the son of a soldier he led a wandering life in childhood, and later his work as a mining engineer took him to Mexico, where the scenes of most of these stories are laid. Only one is a story of the war. The collection opens with a series of eight tales, The trials and triumphs of William Pollok, mine superintendent. The other titles are: Encinillas; The faith of Henderson; A warm corner in Mexico; The casting vote; The subjugation of the Skettering; The failure; The cat; The weregeld; A moral victory.
+ Ath p1386 D 19 ’19 80w
“He wrote well because he lived well and fully, he depicted character in an entertaining fashion because he knew men. He has produced a group of stories worth reading more than once.” G. H. C.
+ Boston Transcript p11 My 15 ’20 500w
“When his feet are off the romantic soil of Mexico, Mr Grogan seems less at home. One story, however—his latest—is distinguished by a quality only a little short of genius. It is a vision of the wars of the future. The story is a prophecy that may be fulfilled in a happier day; it is Gerald Grogan’s chief contribution to literature.”
+ N Y Times 25:25 Je 27 ’20 430w
“They have the excessive cleverness of the young writer, who will not tell a plain tale. Nevertheless the book is full of vitality; and readers to whom this quality, even if it goes with some immaturity, is the all-important one will enjoy the book.”
+ − The Times [London] Lit Sup p698 N 27 ’19 280w