W (continued 3)

+ N. Y. Times. 14: 74. F. 6, ’09. 540w.

“A broad, inspiring, and helpful interpretation and may be commended heartily to those who desire to understand something of the secret of the present unrecognized revival of religion.”

+ Outlook. 91: 293. F. 6, ’09. 270w.

Worth, Nicholas, pseud.^[11] Southerner: a novel, being the autobiography of Nicholas Worth. **$1.20. Doubleday.

9–26438.

“While the author claims that this book is a novel, it is really an indictment of a whole people. Nicholas Worth, the hero, is a Southern youth, who gets a Harvard education immediately after the civil war. Unfortunately, this education results in making him a man who feels better and different from his own kind, who secretly despises them for their faults, and who is only willing to impart to them the mind and virtues and standards of another people whom he admires more.”—Ind.

“The book combines sincerity with insight and, in vividly picturing from within the period of southern rehabilitation, has undoubted historical value. It will appeal only to the more serious reader.”

+ A. L. A. Bkl. 6: 136. D. ’09.

“The story of this man’s struggle for the betterment of his fellows, whether it be pieced together by fancy, or be literally the record of experience, makes one of the most genuine of books; it combines sincerity with insight, and deserves to be taken to heart by serious readers both North and South.” W: M. Payne.

+ Dial. 47: 387. N. 16, ’09. 280w.

“There can be no doubt that the criticisms are written from an intimate inside knowledge of Southern character, and that the book contains a truthful list of not only the faults and frailties of this people, but of their fallacious standards of value. No people, especially a choleric people like those of the South, endure being kicked by a highly educated little fellow, and Nicholas is a little fellow. This is one fault of the book. The reformer in it is too small a personality, too decimated by the kind of education he is trying to thrust upon others, too contemptuous, too unfriendly in spite of his protestations of devotion. The other fault of the book is this: By education and industry, the hero meant the kind of education and the kind of commercialism that has secularized and fattened the North and East.” Mrs. L. H. Harris.

+ − Ind. 67: 1090. N. 11, ’09. 1000w.

“It is the animus, the steady and strong and at times passionate rebellion against what may be called the forces of delay in the South, against whatever and whoever may be holding it back and keeping it apart, that gives to the book its force. The book would doubtless do more good than harm in the South if it should be widely and candidly read there. It is much more likely, however, to get a wide reading, and a rather too serious acceptance, in the North.”

− + Nation. 89: 511. N. 25, ’09. 1200w.

“Contains some very interesting pictures of life in one of the cotton states stretching over the period from the last year of the civil war to the present time and beyond, perhaps, for the narrative seems to deal somewhat in prophecy. After all the story, interesting as much of it is, is not evidence but argument and plea. The tract, of course, spoils the novel—which, swamped as it is, shows in points the qualities of a real story of real people.”

+ − N. Y. Times. 14: 590. O. 9, ’09. 700w.

Wrede, William.^[9] Origin of the New Testament; tr. by James S. Hill. (Harper’s library of living thought.) **75c. Harper.

W9–258.

For the “interested layman or the busy cleric” this is a plain, exhaustive study of the present condition of criticism of New Testament origins from what is commonly known as the standpoint of the “advanced” school.

“The translator claims that it contains a plain and exhaustive account of the present condition of the criticism of New Testament origins from what is commonly known as the standpoint of the ‘advanced’ school. The claim, however, is much too strong.”

− Ath. 1909, 2: 294. S. 11. 420w.

“This posthumous work is free from all the futilities of dogma. It is a reverent work, but it treats of the New Testament as a book, or collection of books, like other books, and not supernaturally inspired.”

+ − N. Y. Times. 14: 828. D. 25, ’09. 430w.

“It should be useful and interesting to those who care for a subject at once literary and historical.”

+ Sat. R. 107: sup. 5. My. 22, ’09. 100w.

Spec. 102: 824. My. 22, ’09. 100w.

Wright, Edward Stager. Westward ’round the world. **$1.25. Dutton.

9–44.

A little book designed “to aid those in search of mild adventure.” In the opening chapter the advice of the author’s wife is recorded upon the subject of a suitable wardrobe for the woman who plans to make a good deal of the social side of travel. This over, the working itinerary for the trip is given, then follows the running narrative of sights, experiences, and impressions which thru ten months can provide a liberal education. There is abundant incidental instruction and advice for the prospective traveler.

“With many of his impressions those who know the countries to which they refer will be content, in spite of the lack of restraint with which he criticises and the coarseness he occasionally exhibits in setting down his disapproving opinions. Mr. Wright spent less than a month in Japan, but he writes about the country as though he knew it thoroughly.”

+ − N. Y. Times. 14: 28. Ja. 16, ’09. 420w.

Wright, Harold Bell.^[10] Calling of Dan Matthews. $1.50. Book supply co., Chicago; (For sale by Reilly & B.)

9–21865.

Heeding a call to devote his life to the service of his fellow men, Dan Matthews naturally 481entered the ministry, and this story brings out clearly in its course how much more a church may value its rich members than its minister. In the face of the unchristian attitude of his church its lack of charity and sympathy with the unfortunate, the great dreams of its young minister are thwarted and he finds that he may serve humanity unhampered only outside the church which stands between him and the teachings of Christ as he interprets them. The love theme is closely interwoven with his problem as the trained nurse, whom he loves, and the doctor, who is his best friend, first open his eyes to the true condition of affairs.

“A tale of considerable interest but annoyingly exaggerated in the drawing of ‘pious’ characters.”

+ − A. L. A. Bkl. 6: 94. N. ’09.

“It is precisely the sort of book which the readers who like this author’s previous volumes may reasonably be expected to enjoy. That it has no special structural merit, no special distinction of style is quite beside the point.” F: T. Cooper.

+ − Bookm. 30: 189. O. ’09. 230w.

“In his new work Mr. Wright has taken occasion to state some very plain facts. The chances are that readers may not entirely agree with him. They will feel, perhaps, that he has overstated his case, but much remains to command a careful hearing. The novel might have been stronger, had the writer taken into account that real men and women are neither wholly good, nor wholly bad, but that human nature approaches neither extreme.”

− + Lit. D. 39: 546. O. 2, ’09. 200w.

“The author writes, evidently, with deep seriousness and with some knowledge of life and the world, but he has not succeeded in imparting to his characters the illusion of reality. In this respect the book is not equal to his former novels, although the plot, what little there is of it, is handled more skilfully.”

+ − N. Y. Times. 14: 551. S. 18, ’09. 430w.

Wright, Horace Winslow.^[6] Birds of the Boston public garden: a study in migration; with an introd. by Bradford Torrey. **$1. Houghton.

9–12629.

“The opening chapter tells when bird migrations occur, what species have appeared each spring from 1900 to 1908, and gives lists of those observed on maximum days, which in the years named have fallen from May 12 to May 20.... A list of one hundred and sixteen birds which the author has observed in the nine years forms the principal part of the compact volume, and as the title suggests, is given not for general descriptive purposes, but as the record of feathered visitants actually seen in the garden. Several dainty photogravures of rare trees in the garden ornament the book.”—Dial.

+ Dial. 46: 374. Je. 1, ’09. 230w.

“It constitutes a remarkable record of thorough observation in a very limited area.”

+ Nation. 88: 517. My. 20, ’09. 220w.

“It is a most interesting study in observation.”

+ N. Y. Times. 14: 386. Je. 19, ’09. 400w.

Wright, Rev. John. Some notable altars in the Church of England and the American Episcopal Church. *$6. Macmillan.

8–33912.

“This volume, containing descriptions of more than a hundred altars in English and American churches, is a handbook of the history and practice of altar construction. Aside from the historical and descriptive interest of the book, it will be of value to those who are desirous of constructing new altars or enriching old ones.”—N. Y. Times.

+ Dial. 46: 233. Ap. 1, ’09. 170w.

“Will interest Protestant churchmen. If the architect or the sculptor be less attracted, it will be because of the inevitable reappearance in such a collection of the old forms and arrangements. Unfortunately, the opportunity to show us the best obtainable has not been fully utilized. The plates are uneven in quality.”

+ − Nation. 87: 662. D. 31, ’08. 380w.

+ N. Y. Times. 13: 623. O. 24, ’08. 50w.

“The pictures are of very good quality and preserve in unusual degree the values of light and shade and of the multifarious details of decoration.”

+ N. Y. Times. 13: 788. D. 13, ’08. 260w.

Wright, Mabel Osgood.^[7] Poppea of the post-office. $1.50. Macmillan.

9–18947.

A foundling of rare sweetness and loyalty possessed of no little spirit is the heroine of this tale set in the early sixties. She is adopted by the post-master of a little town who having been bereft of wife and child allows this little “lady baby” when left upon his doorstep to slip into the place of his lost Marygold. The mystery surrounding Poppea’s parentage, the doings of simple town folk, and the echo of the din of the rebellion are intimately woven into a tale which abounds in clear character delineations.

“A superficial, melodramatic tale, and the most conventional this author has written, but wholesome and interesting.”

+ − A. L. A. Bkl. 6: 28. S. ’09. ✠

“A sweet and wholesome tale.” W: M. Payne.

+ Dial. 47: 183. S. 16, ’09. 230w.

“There is nothing that is strikingly original—neither plot, characters, nor setting—and nothing that interferes with a placid interest.”

+ − Ind. 67: 549. S. 2, ’09. 120w.

+ Lit. D. 39: 449. S. 18, ’09. 270w.

“The idyllic quality of the narrative renders the matter of plot of little account.”

+ − Nation. 89: 278. S. 23, ’09. 370w.

“The characters are all living, likeable folk, and Poppea herself is a wholly charming heroine. But as a story the book is somewhat monotonous. Better a week in the garden with Barbara than a cycle of plot with Mrs. Wright.”

+ − N. Y. Times. 14: 477. Ag. 7, ’09. 280w.

+ Sat. R. 108: 508. O. 23, ’09. 280w.

“The story might have been better managed, but the dialogue, and the scenery, and the drawing of character are excellent.”

+ − Spec. 103: 610. O. 16, ’09. 20w.

Wright, Peter.^[12] Three-foot stool. **$1.50. Dutton.

A volume dealing with the people and life of the West. “Descriptions of the cattleman’s life, his manners, his horsemanship, his employments, his food, and samples of his conversation are interspersed with rhymed passages which invoke the muse, with the pastoral episodes of an Arcadian love affair, whereof the heroine (called Belphoebe) is first coy, then yielding; with animadversions upon the corruption of American politics; while tales of the Orient, and even of Paris, are interpolated.” (N. Y. Times.)

“Mr. Wright clearly has no knowledge of bookmaking, but his mind is a storehouse of information and impressions regarding cattle ranches in Western America. It is a curious hotchpotch—leisurely, and in the main pleasing.”

+ − Ath. 1909, 2: 93. Jl. 24. 250w.

“A curious volume, a medley of good writing and bad in prose, with some pretty bad writing in verse.”

− + N. Y. Times. 14: 719. N. 20, ’09. 360w.

482Wright, Walter Page.^[10] Garden week by week. *$2. Doubleday.

9–35802.

A garden handbook that “does not contain anything about garden art, nor about the general principles of gardening. It is composed of twelve practical chapters, subdivided so as to show seasonable work for every week in the year.... The reader is told what operations to perform and what plants to grow every week.”

“Presupposes more extensive operations and is more detailed than Shelton’s ‘Seasons in a flower garden.’”

+ A. L. A. Bkl. 6: 53. O. ’09.

“Mr. Wright is eminently practical.”

+ Spec. 102: 1038. Je. 26, ’09. 150w.

Wright, William Henry.^[11] Grizzly bear: the narrative of a hunter-naturalist, historical, scientific and adventurous. **$1.50. Scribner.

9–25768.

An autobiographical chapter enables the reader to reach the author’s state of interest in grizzly bears that led him to devote twenty-five years to the study of them. He traces the history of grizzlies, gives numerous experiences and adventures in hunting them and minutely discusses their character and habits.

“His pictures in this book are admirable, and worth classing with the work of the brothers Kearton. This is an excellent, if unpretentious, contribution to their history.”

+ Ath. 1909, 2: 498. O. 23. 400w.

“A capital book of its kind.”

+ Lit. D. 39: 643. O. 16, ’09. 190w.

“Mr. Wright makes his book intensely interesting.”

+ R. of Rs. 40: 639. N. ’09. 130w.

“The book contains a deal of interesting matter about the habits of bears.”

+ Spec. 103: sup. 816. N. 20, ’09. 180w.

Wrong, George MacKinnon. Canadian manor and its seigneurs: the story of a hundred years. *$3. Macmillan.

8–34239.

A story whose heroes, John Nairne and Malcolm Frazer, are Highland officers who became seigneurs in the province of Quebec. “After the taking of Quebec, they settled on grants obtained on the shores of the St. Lawrence. Whatever the faults of the seigniorial system, they did not make themselves felt when it was worked by such men as John Nairne. He was keenly interested in the welfare of his tenants, promoting the clearing of the land and agricultural improvements of all kinds. He encouraged settlement, giving terms, which, as Professor Wrong reminds us, compare favourably with what an intending settler would receive to-day from a private owner or a land company. Not till much later did the seigniorial rights become burdensome. The story of John Nairne, of the fulfilment of his purposes, and of the sorrows of his life is deeply interesting.” (Spec.)

“The author’s attitude toward the ancient local institutions of French Canada is discriminating but thoroughly sympathetic; and although his story is one of dramatic interest he has given us real history and not historical fiction.” W: B. Munro.

+ Am. Hist. R. 14: 635 Ap. ’09. 600w.

“Has an interest beyond that suggested by the title.”

+ Ath. 1908, 2: 606. N. 14. 800w.

“Is one of the best of the local histories in which the Province of Quebec is rich.” W. L. G.

+ Eng. Hist. R. 24: 618. Jl. ’09. 240w.

“Two books with the same root idea, to trace the growth of French Canada, not through the dramatic events of her history, but through the everyday life of her people. As it has been worked out, however, they are complementary, the one beginning where the other leaves off. Both are vivid in style and fresh in treatment, but they command interest for wholly different seasons. It is no reflection on ‘Canadian types of the old régime’ that ‘A Canadian manor and its seigneurs’ has the advantage, for Professor Wrong has written a French Canada with England, rather than France, in the background, in itself a distinction.”

+ Sat. R. 107: 308. Mr. 6, ’09. 500w.

“Professor Wrong gives us a valuable picture of the ‘habitant’ village with its various ways and customs.”

+ Spec. 102: 66. Ja. 9, ’09. 200w.

Wyllarde, Dolf. Rose-white youth. †$1.50. Lane.

8–29001.

“The heroine is fifteen, and she dies of a broken back (supplemented by a broken heart) on her sixteenth birthday. The man in the case is a bronzed explorer, known to scientific fame, a guest of her family at their country house. It is a wretched misunderstanding that causes him to misjudge her, and it is not cleared up (for the girl) in time to save her from that last reckless ride along the cliff.”—Dial.

“This story is marred by the frequent employment of sensual suggestion, a fault which has marked the earlier books of this writer, seeming to indicate an inherent vulgarity of mind.” W: M. Payne.

− + Dial. 46: 86. F. 1, ’09. 150w.

“‘Dolf Wyllarde’ is better bred than ‘The Duchess,’ but the style is not quite free from the shabby-genteel complacency of the middle-class romancer sure of an audience.”

− + Nation. 88: 117. F. 4, ’09. 230w.

“A haunting little volume, not easily laid aside.”

+ N. Y. Times. 13: 571. O. 17, ’08. 140w.

“It is an ultra-sentimental story. The book shows a good deal of shrewd observation and a keen sense of the pathos of life even in its teens—viewed from a little way off.”

− + Sat. R. 107: 49. Ja. 9, ’09. 180w.

Wynne, May.^[5] Gipsy count: a romance of chivalry. $1.50. McBride, J:

9–10032.

A story of the fifteenth century which follows a race feud in two Breton noblemen’s families. Siege of castle finds its parallel in the siege of hearts which latter warfare is participated in by steel-clad knights and high-spirited heroines.

“Without being a story which even the most conscientious consumer of fiction need feel bound to read, the ‘Gipsy count’ may amuse the idle, perhaps as well as some thousands of other such compositions.”

− N. Y. Times. 14: 291. My. 8, ’09. 110w.

Wynne, May. Henry of Navarre: a romance of August, 1572. †$1.50. Putnam.

8–30614.

Descriptive note in December, 1908 under “Henry of Navarre.”

“Not remarkably well written, but fairly interesting and unobjectionable.”

+ − A. L. A. Bkl. 5: 55. F. ’09.

“This transmogrified play makes a brisk and spirited narrative with rather crude and conventional characterization.”

+ − Ath. 1909, 1: 221. F. 20. 140w.

“When all is said, an hour, even an undistinguished hour, in the presence of a colossal event, is better than many another thousand.”

+ − Nation. 88: 308. Mr. 25, ’09. 330w.

483“It is all about the massacre of S. Bartholomew, and a Henry of Navarre and Marguerite of Valois who do not quite tally with the historical personages of those names; and swords clash and ladies’ eyes flash and cannons crash and doors bash and heads smash, and as for trash—but the mannerisms of Oriental storytellers are out of place.”

− Sat. R. 107: 145. Ja. 30, ’09. 220w.