ORCZY, EMMUSKA (MRS MONTAGUE BARSTOW) baroness. His Majesty’s well-beloved. *$1.75 (2c) Doran
19–19054
A quaintly told story of an English actor in the times of Charles II. John Honeywood, devoted to Thomas Betterton is permitted, in his capacity as friend and secretary, to see much of the intimate life of that famous actor. It is he, who, in the form of a beseeching letter to Mary Saunderson, formerly betrothed to Tom Betterton, tells of the latter’s strange, thwarted love and passion for a lady of nobility: the insults and outrage her family heap upon “the mountebank” who presumes to my lady’s affections; the bitter, relentless revenge Betterton slowly perfects and executes: and finally his utter renunciation to save the innocence of Lady Barbara, and to restore to her the man she loves, cleared from all dishonor. Throughout the narrative Honeywood pleads with Mistress Saunderson that Betterton’s love for Lady Barbara is naught but a wild infatuation, and that his feeling for herself is still pure and unsullied. Evidently he succeeds, for the final chapter chronicles the wedding of Thomas Betterton, actor, and Mary Joyce Saunderson.
“An interesting, wholesome adventure story.”
+ Booklist 16:245 Ap ’20 + Cleveland p50 My ’20 100w
“The tale is picturesque and dramatic, with many an unexpected twist.”
+ N Y Times 25:128 Mr 21 ’20 500w
“Better written, we think, than this author’s ‘Scarlet Pimpernel’ romances and equally stirring in plot.”
+ Outlook 125:125 My 19 ’20 20w