The Pacific Monthly/Volume 14/Number 3/Literature

LITERATURE

By THE READER

A Souvenir of Western Women

Edited by Mary Osborn Douthit, will become dear to the hearts of the women who helped build the Pacific Northwest. The scope of the work is limited and in that is its special value to those who pioneered the Oregon country since the day of Whitman. This country is not so old, any of it, that the earliest settlers have not a few representatives left, and the children and grandchildren of these have not forgotten the brave women whom they are proud to claim as their mothers and grandmothers. The book is illustrated with colored photographs of Oregon scenery and pictures of women bearing well-known names in the Northwest. It harks back to an earlier date, it is a real "souvenir," something to remember by, something the descendants of those grand pioneer women will prize, even to the time when some great-great-grandchild turns the fading pages and looks at the "funny, old picture" of great-great-grandma.

The book contains considerable data regarding the Lewis and Clark Exposition and a number of short stories and sketches by and about Oregon women.

***

The Breath of the Gods

"The Breath of the Gods" is a story of modern Japan, and it is one of unusual strength and power. The story opens in Washington, D. C., at the "coming out" party of the daughter of a United States Senator. The friend and confidante of her school days, Yuki Onda, of Tokio, is the heroine of the book. The story is one of compelling interest and gives an insight into the Japanese character which it would be difficult to get elsewhere. It is full of dramatic power, and dramatized, we believe, would secure instant recognition and success. The writer, Sidney McCall, is the author of "Truth Dexter." We recommend "The Breath of the Gods" to those who wish to read an interesting, well constructed story. The publishers are Little, Brown & Co. of Boston.

*** The Master Mummer

This is the third story by E. Phillip Oppenheim, which will probably have a large number of readers. The story is well told along conventional lines, and is, of course, interesting. It is hardly up to the standard of "Mysterious Mr. Sabin," Mr. Oppenheim's previous book, and in which he reached an unusually high plane. Little, Brown & Co., publishers.

***

In the Days of Shakespeare

Tudor Jenks, who dipped into the lore of ancient England and told us all there is to be known about Chaucer and did it entertainingly and without discussion, has done the same thing by Shakespeare. He has told in a readable way "In the Days of Shakespeare" just what there is to be told about the great playwright and has omitted to make conjectures to fill in the gaps in his knowledge. He takes the reader as far as he can go and then sets him off to sail as he pleases on the sea of possibilities. The book has the advantage of being small. Others have written of Shakespeare before, and on account of the difficulty of separating the writer from his work, have weighed themselves down with notes and appendices to no purpose. Even Tudor Jenks could not escape one appendix, but this serves to aid rather than to bewilder, as it gives a simple chronological table of Shakespeare's life. He says of his own work:

"This book aims to present the poet as he was known to his friends and neighbors, to tell the story of his life and times, and to record the happenings that influenced him. The plan of this book does not include a detailed critical discussion of disputed questions, nor a critical commentary upon the plays except as they help us to know the times and the man, or the circumstances that affect his treatment of the themes he chose." (A. S. Barnes & Company, New York, publishers.)