| + + + | Spec. 95: 18. Jl. 1, ‘05. 1490w. |
Mason, Alfred Edward Woodley. [Truants.] $1.50. Harper.
An exciting story of London life in which the truants are a young married couple living with the rich and domineering father of the husband. To escape this tyranny the young man leaves his wife and sets forth to carve a new fortune for her and for himself. He at last joins the Foreign legion in Africa and wins distinction, but is called home by the news that his foolish young wife has fallen into the clutches of an adventurer. The real interest lies in the character of Pamela Mardale and her lover who protect and assist the truants and thereby find their own happiness.
“There is a good deal of variety about this romance, but it is not a very organic piece of work. The best part of it is that devoted to the Foreign legion, of which the author seems to have made a special study. It is fairly new ground for the average reader.” W. M. Payne.
| + | Dial. 38: 17. Ja. 1, ‘05. 270w. |
“He writes in a prosaic manner of the most romantic passions.”
| — | Ind. 59: 216. Jl. 27, ‘05. 80w. |
“‘The truants’ is a departure from two established canons of art: that the heroine must be interesting, and the motif adequate. The author’s style has distinction, color and restraint; his product is fiction to be read, not fiction manufactured to be sold.”
| + + | Reader. 5: 254. Ja. ‘05. 420w. |
“Sure to awaken the reader’s interest.”