Monday, Mar. 03, 1924

The Interpreter's House--

"Work, Love and a Background of Beauty"

The Story. Gulian Eyre, 35, handsome, attractive, returns to Manhat- tan, bringing with him Vannya--Major Ivan Polienoff, Russian artist. Gulian has served in the War, has tried to write poetry in Paris, has been attached to the diplomatic service in Japan. Now he plans to settle down.

His father is Henry Eyre, a famed retired banker, who never has believed in interfering with his children. The present head of Eyre & Co. is Gulian's brother Philip, at college a Christian-athlete, now a settled citizen who regards Gulian with some scorn. Gulian also has a sister Drusilla. She is married (not very happily, one judges) to a broker, Perry Shipman, who is also a rounder.

Gulian falls in love with Vida Prendergast, who is unhappily married to Sydney Prendergast, son, of Father Eyre's partner. But just as that affair shows signs of becoming dangerous, Gulian learns that his father's health is in a grave condition--"any sudden shock would kill him." Vida will not divorce her husband and partly on account of his father's condition, Gulian will not consider any other arrangement. So the affair ends.

While he is at the Eyre's place up the Hudson, trying to forget, Gulian meets Lael Sartori, moody and bitter debutante, whom he finds amusing. He meets her again at Sister Brasilia's, falls in love with her. Unfortunately, she misunderstands him and turns him down. So he goes back to New York, bitter.

Then when he is in New York he discovers that his sister--who must have been more unhappy than he realized--has been having an affair with the irresponsible Vannya and that it, too, is threatening to become serious. To end this he tells Drusilla and Vannya--who has by this time become a great friend of the older Mr. Eyre-- of the condition of his father. This has the desired effect.

All this time he has been working in the office of Broker Shipman. But Lael Sartori refuses him once more, and he, disgusted, resigns. And just as he resigns there comes a letter from Lael. She will marry him after all! Happiness . . .

That very night comes the crash. His brother Philip has been speculating with embezzled funds. He puts this information in the hands of Gulian, then shoots himself. Gulian is left with the nasty problem of saving the family name.

But if it is a nasty problem, it is also the salvation of Gulian. His father is too old, so he must take charge of the situation. With rare skill he keeps the disgrace from coming into the open. He frees Drusilla from Perry, leaves her disengaged for Vannya. And he himself marries Lael.

The Significance. Mr. Burt's novel tries to view the contemporary scene and to make some interpretation of it. "Work," says Gulian, "work that fills every crevice of your passion for work; love, as much a part of you as your breath; and a background of quiet beauty." It is a fair formula. But how much of it would Gulian have fulfilled without accident? He himself tried work of various sorts and did not find ,that it filled every crevice-- just to take one of the three. Nevertheless, it is an interesting, serious, first novel. At times it is too much an essay. But it holds the attention.

The Author. (Maxwell) Struthers Burt: was born in Philadelphia (1882), educated at Princeton (1904), and Merton College, Oxford. He has been a newspaper reporter and an instructor in English (Princeton). Now he runs a "dude ranch" in Wyoming--takes 35 boarders. He has written Songs and Portraits (verse), Chance Encounters, and John O'May (short stories).

New Books

The following estimates of books much in the public eye were made after careful consideration of the trend of critical opinion:

TOLD BY AN IDIOT--Rose Macaulay-- Boni & Liveright ($2.00). The story begins in 1879 when the wild young people of the late Victorian era are shocking their staid parents the early Victorians--as indeed those early Victorians had shocked their own parents before them. It deals with the Garden family and with their reactions--angry, hopeful, happy, amused--at the happenings in the world around them. It contends that just as there has been no radical physical or biological change in people, so there has been very little change in fundamental character from one generation to another. It ends in 1922, when the children of those same late : Victorians are bewildering their now grown-up parents.

There is no real plot. The most significant characters are Maurice Garden, i radical editor who believes that nothing will save the world; Stanley Garden, ; his sister, who at various stages has believed that everything will save it; Aubrey Garden, father, a minister as often as he can be, who has joined every faith and ends by believing all of them; Rome Garden, ironic, suave, amused, ; who sees her father join all of the faiths and never believes in any of them. "What people said and wrote of the nineties at the time," says Miss Macaulay, "was that they were modern--which of course at the time they were." That is a fair sample of her manner in this amusing, ironic, if not terribly important book.

HENRY BROCKEN--Walter De la Mare --Knopf ($2.50). Henry Brocken rides upon Rosinante into a strange dream country wherein he meets such familiar characters as Lemuel Gulliver, La Belle Dame Sans Merci and Jane Eyre. It is a fantastically, written fairy tale for adults and particularly for those adults who are familiar with and fond of the people of books.

A HIND LET LOOSE--C. E. "Montague--Doubleday ($2.00). In Halland, England, "the second city of the Empire," the Warder, Conservative, and the Stalwart, Liberal, are rival papers. Fay writes the leaders for the Warder and Maloney writes them for the Stalwart. But Fay and Maloney turn out to be the same person. Or Tweedledee proves to be Tweedledum. His publishers call Mr. Montague "a superb ironist." It seems that there is more comedy than irony. Nevertheless the book is witty and amusing. And there is at least some barb to the satire.

-THE INTERPRETERS HOUSE -- Struthen Burt--Scribuers ($2.00).