David Harum. Illustrated Edition. With 70 full-page and text pictures by B. West Clinedinst, and other text designs by C. D. Farrand, and a biography of the author by Forbes Heermans. 12mo. $1.50. "What seems to us to be the final judgment of 'David Harum' is given in the North American Review by no less a personage than John Oliver Hobbes. This review strikes at the root of the matter. "'It would not be presumptuous to say,' opines Mrs. Craigie, 'well remembering the magnificent ability of certain English authors of the present day, that not one could create a character which would win the whole English population as David Harum has won the American public. The reason is plain. With so many class distinctions, a national figure is out of the question. A national hero—yes; but a man for "winterin' and summerin' with"—no. Social equality and independence of thought, in spite of all abortive attempts to introduce the manners and traditions of feudal Europe, are in the very air of the United States. One could not find an American man or woman of the true stock who had not known intimately, or who did not count among his or her ancestors, connections, relatives, a David Harum. The type, no doubt, is getting old: becoming more and more "removed" from the younger generation. In the course of the next twenty years it may become so changed as to seem extinct, but it is a national figure—certainly the most original, probably the purest in blood. And the spirit of Harum is the undying spirit—no matter how much modified it may eventually become by refinement, travel, and foreign influence—of the American people. Individuals may change, but the point of view remains unalterable.'"—New York Mail and Express. "'David Harum' is one of those extremely rare and perfectly fresh creations in current fiction which really enrich our literature. In brief, it is a masterpiece, and one that deserves an immense popularity. No words can adequately describe its wholesome, sparkling humor, its quaint and endearing originality, its genuine Yankee wit and native shrewdness. A well-nigh perfect work it is—a creation which will take a permanent place among American literary portraits."—Literary Review. D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. |