+ − Springf’d Republican p8 Ag 27 ’20 500w
“There is the satisfaction of knowing that wherever you may dip into this book you will be amused. So much of modern literature is only rough hewn that a finely finished work—even on goldfish—is welcome. In that respect ‘it’ does ‘matter.’”
+ The Times [London] Lit Sup p693 N 27 ’19 680w
MINNIGERODE, MEADE. Laughing house. *$1.90 (3½c) Putnam
20–18258
Laughing house is another name for Shirley House, the ancestral home of the Shirley family in Shirley, Connecticut. It is packed with family lore and tradition, which Francis and Mary Elizabeth love and respect. There they have a happy childhood, whose joys are shared by Newell and Isabelle Rushmore and Billy Vane, who are almost as much at home at Shirley House as the Shirleys themselves. When the children grow up they are still the best of comrades. In fact, they know each other so well that all their future relations are taken for granted and it is tacitly understood that Mary Elizabeth is to marry Billy. But then a stranger comes into their midst, a nouveau-riche neighbor who tramples on their traditions and upsets all their calculations. But altho her methods are a trifle ruthless, she opens the eyes of several people to their real feelings toward various other people. Billy suffers most, but deservedly so. Mary Elizabeth does not marry him, but Newell, and Isabelle who had fancied herself in love with Billy, too, finds it is Francis after all.
“When Mr Minnigerode is dealing with this family he is altogether charming. Perhaps he cannot write of ugliness: when he brings in a member of the nouveau riche, and introduces us to a vulgar and ‘designing woman,’ his skill departs.” W: L. Phelps
+ − N Y Times p8 O 31 ’20 380w
“There is a pleasantness about the tale, and the reader will relish the quiet old Shirley homestead, the quiet of the village and surrounding hills, and the principal characters. The story is natural in its telling.”