“It is fair, however, to warn the reader that he will find here some graceful verse but little poetry, many characters, but little distinct characterization, and hardly anything of either the pathos or the humor of the old story beloved of all readers of English.”
− + Theatre Arts Magazine 4:260 Jl ’20 190w
MCKENNA, STEPHEN. Lady Lilith. *$2 (2c) Doran
20–18657
The sobriquet, Lady Lilith, is applied to Lady Barbara Neave, daughter of a viceroy of India. From childhood on she has been a problem to her family and has kept their nerves on edge with her surprising escapades. Early accustomed to social prominence and adulation, her craving for sensations soon seeks wider fields than through conventional channels. Her excessive vanity makes her an adroit actress, and her heartlessness enables her to walk roughshod over everybody in search of new emotions and new rôles to play. She seems vulnerable only in one spot: her superstition. Throughout the story she toys with the sensation of Jack Waring’s blunt criticism of herself and his persistent love-making. The reader is left somewhat in doubt how much of her remorse after her final refusal of him is genuine feeling, how much theatrical pose, and how much superstitious fear.
“If Mr McKenna’s novel were witty, amusing, an aspect of the human comedy, or just nonsense—or even melodrama—we should not protest. But to butcher his gifts to make a snobs’ banquet is surely a very lamentable pastime. It would be interesting to know whether he has—a dozen, say—readers of his own sex.” K. M.
− Ath p616 N 5 ’20 420w
“The author gives us a picture of present day social and political life in London, but we sincerely trust that his heroine is not typical of the modern English woman.”
+ − Cath World 112:553 Ja ’21 190w