“The volumes form no crude collection of miscellaneous letters, but an arranged and orderly display of correspondence that illustrates the many sides of a most remarkable man.” (Acad.) “Not content with stringing her father’s letters together with the usual matter-of-fact commentary, she has thrown into her narrative much literary and personal feeling.” (Ath.) The letters form an instructive narrative of the events of his life throwing light upon his literary work, his diplomatic career, and especially his much discussed policy as Viceroy of India.
“This is one of the most interesting books of the season. She has produced a work even more interesting than a ‘Life’ would have been.”
+ + Acad. 71: 389. O. 20, ’06. 1220w.
“Lady Betty Balfour was not born a Lytton for nothing. She has a style, and her reading has been wide.”
+ + Ath. 1906, 2: 505. O. 27. 2340w. Lit. D. 33: 855. D. 8, ’06. 70w. + + Lond. Times. 5: 349. O. 19, ’06. 2410w. + + N. Y. Times. 11: 773. N. 24, ’06. 1590w. Sat. R. 102: 613. N. 17, ’06. 2300w.
Merejkowski, Dmitri Sergeitch. Peter and Alexis; tr. by Mr. Herbert Trench. $1.50. Putnam.
“Peter and Alexis” is the last of Merejkowski’s trilogy, “The Christ and the anti-Christ,” the other two being “The death of the Gods,” and “The forerunner.” It deals with a purely Russian theme. “While it incidentally exhibits Russia and all classes and conditions of Russians at the beginning of the eighteenth century, it centres around one of the most piteous examples to be found in all history of what is ever a moving and a piteous theme—the gradual alienation of son from father, and father from son.... On the one side looms Peter the Great, the master-worker, building Russia with his own hands; half man, half were-wolf.... On the other side is Alexis, the weakling, the victim of fate, naturally affectionate, but utterly inadequate.” The volume closes with a description of his journey back to Russia and the horrible death awaiting him.
“It is clear that the translator has spared no pains to reproduce the difficult, heavily laden atmosphere of the tragedy in which Merejkowski deals for the first time with a purely Russian theme, and he appears to succeed admirably.”