| + + | R. of Rs. 31: 759. Je. ‘05. 120w. |
Le Gallienne, Richard. Painted shadows. [†]$1.50. Little.
These are not stories, nor essays, nor a part of prosaic today; they are verily painted shadows, as clear, as fanciful, and as elusive. There is much charming verse and much poetic prose, and many truthful things which strike home to a troubled soul. “The youth of lady Contantia,” “The shadow of a rose,” “What of love? What of fame?”—they were real only so long as they ran before us, shining shapes of promise. They were real only so long as they were shadows. “Old silver,” with its exquisite song, “The woman of dreams,” “Household gods,” “Dear dead woman,” “The two ghosts”; they and the others form a book which will be dear to all who love what is good and beautiful in literature.
“Devotees of the realistic school in literature will never enjoy Mr. Le Gallienne’s work, but for those who value a story more for its fine literary quality than for its fidelity to the real conditions of life, his beauty of phrasing and delicacy of imagination hold a charm which never grows old.” Amy C. Rich.
| + + | Arena. 33: 221. F. ‘05. 160w. |
“... In ‘Painted shadows,’ where pretty phrasing usurps the place of beautiful thought, where the mental amiability of the author’s attitude is unsupported by any vigor or nobility of utterance.”
| — + | Reader. 5: 784. My. ‘05. 570w. |
“Le Gallienne’s style, when at its best, is one of the finest things in contemporary literature. It is distinctly at its best in ‘Painted shadows.’ Should add materially to Mr. Le Gallienne’s reputation.”
| + + | R. of Rs. 31: 116. Ja. ‘05. 110w. |
“He touches life with a delicate brush. His plots are not strong, or very purposeful; but they have the true aroma of my lady’s boudoir. He does not hesitate to use the impossible fancies of mediaeval romance to bring his stories to a desired consummation.” J. R. Ormond.