CHAPTER XXIX BRITISH FICTION-MODERN PERIOD-MEN "Novels are usually one of two types, and may generally be put into one of two classes. There are those that treat mostly of external events, and those that treat almost entirely of internal events. The external treatment is characteristic of the old-fashioned novel, as the internal treatment is of the modern novel. Our ancestors were interested, principally in what went on in the world about them; we care for what goes on inside us. I take it that the ideal novel would exhibit a balance between these two interests. At the present time, the balance tips too much to the side of the internal."-REV. HUGH BENSON. THE modern period of British fiction begins with that earliest of best-sellers, "Trilby," and extends to a group of young novelists, Beresford, Cannan, Onions, Mackenzie, and Walpole, who stand in such seeming league together against existing institutions that they have been called "The Young Syndicate" in modern fiction. The most conspicuous point of resemblance which these young novelists exhibit in common is that they have all written trilogies. When we add to their ranks the names of Arnold Bennett and Archibald Marshall it seems fair to say that the trilogy is the most distinctive product of contemporary British fiction. Next to the trilogy, the most characteristic type of modern novel is the "biographical," or "cradle-to-the-grave" form of story, that follows the fortunes of one hero, in accurate chronological sequence. Butler and Beresford have given us the best novels of this type after "Jean-Christophe." If a third type of novel were to be named as peculiar to our modern period, it would be the "family" novel. Stories that take a whole family as the hero, rather than any single individual, are frequent in contemporary fiction. "These Lynnekers," "Three Sons and a Mother," The Clinton Tetralogy, "The Way of All Flesh" are examples of this tendency of modern writers. Trilby. 1894. Harper. The Martian. 1897. Harper. Du Maurier was first famous as an artist on the staff of the London Punch, to which he contributed his incomparable satirical drawings of society. "Peter Ibbetson," his first novel, is a fanciful romance of dream life. It is work of rare imagination and charm of style. "Trilby" created a literary sensation. The story is laid in the Latin Quarter in Paris and is thoroughly French in atmosphere. Du Maurier was born in Paris and studied art there, so his milieu was familiar to him. "Trilby" contained a portrait of Whistler in caricature, which Du Maurier was forced by law to withdraw or to change. Havelock Elle is, in "Impressions and Comments" (Houghton Mifflin), has ointed out that when an artist writes he generally writes superbly well. "Again and again it has happened that a as spent his life with a brush has beaten the best pen man who ho men at the ir own weapon. Leonardo, Blake, Rossetti, Fromentin, Michelangelo, Rodin, Reynolds, Du Maurier, Whistler, Beardsley— to think of any artist a bad writer." it is hards V BUTLER, SAMUEL. 1835-1902. The Way of All Flesh. 1903. Dutton; Boni, Modern. Erewe Erew hon; or, Over the Range. 1872. Dutton. hon Revisited. 1901. Dutton. Note books. 1912. Dutton. Sam exhibit uel Butler was a versatile genius. He was an artist who ted in the Royal Academy, a musician who composed a cantata' and an oratorio of distinction, a man of science who Suted several books to the study of evolution, the author of s books of travel and of at least one immortal novel. "The contrib variou S Way of All Flesh" is a "biographical" novel depicting three generations of the same family. The hypocrisy of the ecclesiastical arand educational systems is bitterly satirized, their hereditary and cumulative effects being shown. "N "TErewhon" and its sequel are Utopias, the title being the word Nowhere" spelled backwards. "The Notebooks" contain some Cf Butler's best work. An earli poetical satire,nuel Butler, who lived 1612-1680, the author of a Samuel Butler.dibras," is not to be confused with the modern DE MORGAN, WILLIAM REND. 1839-1917. Joseph Vance. Holt. 190 An Affair of Dishonor. Holt. 1910.. When Ghost Meets Ghost. Holt. 1914. 1909. Grosset. The Old Madhouse (concluded by his wife Holt. 1917-18. The Old Man's Youth and the Young Man's Old Age. Holt. 1917-18. De Morgan was sixty-four years of age when he wrote his first novel, "Joseph Vance." He was hailed at once as a modern Dickens. His leisurely style, and many asides to the reader are "early Victorian." De Morgan is a painter of street and gutter life. His books are devoid of plot construction, but they contain some memorable portraits. "Joseph Vance" is the story of a little boy rescued from the gutter and brought up by a rich family. "Alice-for-Short" is a companion picture of a little girl similarly rescued. The story turns on an instance of loss of memory from shock, a plot which De Morgan used again in "Somehow Good." "It Never Can Happen Again" is based on the English deceased wife's sister law. The two historical novels, "An Affair of Dishonor" and "A Likely Story," are inferior to De Morgan's work. "When Ghost Meets Ghost" is an excellent twin story that treats the familiar idea of mistaken identity in twin t's with surprising freshness. "The Old Madhouse," a mystery stor "The Old Man's Youth and the Young Man's Old Age," a tl semiautobiographical novel, were published posthumously. HARDY, THOMAS. 1840 Novels. Thin paper edition. Leather. 17 vols. Harper. List of his fiction is: other and Hardy, the greatest living master of English fiction, has abandoned novel writing for poetry. It was in 1895 that he published his last novel, "Jude the Obscure," and the storm of blind and perverse criticism which the book aroused led him to give up fiction. Hardy has written novels and three volumes of short stories: "Life's Little Ironies," "A Group of Noble Dames," and "Wessex Tales." He is known as "the novelist of Wessex" because the scene of nearly all his books is laid in the ancient kingdom of Wessex, now called Dorsetshire. "The Return of the Native," "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," and "Jude the Obscure" are generally considered Hardy's three greatest works. Hardy delights to portray the grim irony of life. HUDSON, WILLIAM HENRY. 1841-1922. Collected Works. Limited Edition. 24 vols. Dutton. The Purple Land. 1885. Dutton. Fan: The Story of a Young Girl's Life. 1892. Dutton. The Crystal Age. Dutton. 1906. Tales of the Pampas. 1916. Knopf. Dead Man's Pack and An Old Thorn. 1920. Dutton. Ralph Herne (posthumous-novel), Knopf. 1923. (See also pp. 289, 317) W. H. Hudson is both a naturalist and a novelist. He has chosen to serve two masters, and has reached distinction under both. "The Purple Land" is a story of Uruguay, "the land that England lost." "The Crystal Age" is a Utopia, a picture of a paragon world. "Green Mansions" is an idyllic romance of South America, the story being a beautiful allegory. Hudson's two autobiographical volumes, "A Little Boy Lost" and "Far Away and Long Ago" are of matchless charm. Hudson is a stylist whose books are rich in beautiful lyric prose. STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS. 1850-1894. Complete works. Biographical edition. 31 vols. Scribner. Of which the novels and short stories are: (See also pp. 273, 303, 609) Thistle edition. 26 vols. By subscription. Scribner. Popular edition. 10 vols. Scribner. Selected non-copyright works. 14 vols. (Turner reprint.) Small. New Century edition. 6 vols. Nelson. Also numerous separate editions on the Scribner list and editions of the earlier non-copyright material in all popular reprint series. Stevenson revived Defoe's novel of romantic adventure and combined therewith much psychological analysis. Incident and char |