[*] “Though but a slight love tale, embodies a maturity of conception, a surety of view, a subtle phraseology, an exquisite use of irony, and, withal, a sedate, appeasing dignity.”
| + | R. of Rs. 32: 757. D. ‘05. 70w. |
“The book is mainly a study—and a very clever and shrewd study—of one type of American girl. But all the subordinate characters are carefully drawn.”
| + + — | Spec. 95: 124. Jl. 22, ‘05. 830w. |
Howells, William Dean. Son of Royal Langbrith. $2. Harper.
The story is the tragic one of the weakness of a good mother who lacks the courage to tell her son of the iniquities of his dead father. He grows up in the belief that his father is a noble and heroic character, and when the truth is revealed to him, through the courtship of his mother by the country doctor, he suffers greatly in the loss of his ideal. An opium eater and his loyal daughter enter into the story. The setting is a small New England manufacturing town.
“Is in many respects the best bit of work Mr. Howells has done of late years. One is inclined to read it slowly, lingering in enjoyment of the charming style, and appreciating to the full the perfect picture of New England life in the minute details that Mr. Howells so loves to dwell on. It is a pity, however, that in his love of realistic detail, Mr. Howells should be led into writing passages which, to say the least, mar the artistic effect of his work. He has set such a dainty dish before us that we cannot bear even one drop of grease to spoil the taste.” C. Harwood.
| + + — | Critic. 46: 184. F. ‘05. 560w. |
“The one objection which the average reader has been known to make against the work of Mr. William Dean Howells,—namely, that that distinguished novelist is too fond of the insignificant,—cannot be brought against ‘The son of Royal Langbrith.’ That the working out of this theme is masterly it is superfluous to add.”
| + + | R. of Rs. 31: 116. Ja. ‘05. 80w. |