| + + — | Reader. 5: 622. Ap. ‘05. 1760w. |
[*] “Though a mediocre piece of construction, marred by diffuseness and irrelevancies, this novel should be read for its splendidly successful character studies.”
| + — | R. of Rs. 32: 759. D. ‘05. 170w. |
“She writes remarkably well, though with a tendency to exaggeration and exuberance, and she has the usual feminine weakness for adjectives.”
| + + — | Sat. R. 100: 412. S. 23, ‘05. 420w. |
Sinclair, Upton Beall, jr. Manassas. $1.50. Macmillan.
This novel without a heroine is really a romantic history of the years preceding the Civil war. The story ends with the first battle of Manassas. The southern hero attends college in Boston, and there becomes an abolitionist; on returning home his eyes are more fully opened to the horrors of slavery and he eventually joins the Union army. “Manassas” is the first of an epic trilogy, the volumes to come being “Gettysburg,” and “Appomattox.”
“It is one of the most thrillingly interesting books of its kind that we have ever read. The real drama of the book is the historical clash of the two civilizations, and individuals seem to be made use of only by way of incidental illustration. It is history written with warmth and an eye for dramatic effect, ... but it is nevertheless essentially history. It is a work deserving of very high praise.” W. M. Payne.
| + + + | Dial. 38: 15. Ja. 1, ‘05. 630w. |
“His power is well sustained through the long narrative.”