Note 105 — 24. Mary Johnston’s Adventure

It must be premised that “growth” in an artist is a term upon which agreement as to definition is probably impossible. Nevertheless it is loosely used by all of us to denote a certain progression in the work of such a writer as Henry James or Thomas Hardy. It may or may not, I suspect, mean greater or more enduring work, but it almost invariably must mean work of a more marked idiosyncrasy, more stamped with the personality of the author, and probably written with a noticeable idiom of style. Subject is hardly a safe test.