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LITERATURE, AMERICAN, IN 1886. 



" A Politician's Daughter " tells American girls 

 what they may expect to see in society when 

 they marry Congressmen or other public officers. 

 Henry James brought out two books : " The 

 Bostonians," which can hardly be said to have 

 added to its author's popularity, being excess- 

 ively long and bitterly satirical, and " The 

 Princess Cassamassima," which was shorter 

 and better adapted to please the popular taste. 

 This last deals with the English working-classes 

 a new line of study for Mr. James, so far as 

 shown by his books as hitherto published. Col. 

 Thomas W. Knox adds to his popular series of 

 like titles, " The Boy Travelers in the Russian 

 Empire," which, indeed, are hardly to be classed 

 as fiction, since they are based on personal 

 knowledge of the countries described. Henry 

 F. Keenan's " The Aliens " traces the fortunes 

 and misfortunes of a family of Irish immigrants 

 in the New World. The book is marked by 

 the author's characteristic brilliancy of con- 

 ception. "The Man who was Guilty," by 

 Flora H. Longhead, severely and properly em- 

 phasizes the uncharitableness of Christians to- 

 ward reformed criminals. Divorce is the not 

 unpopular nor untimely motive of M. G. Mc- 

 Clelland's " Princess " ; and, on the other hand, 

 Elizabeth Gilbert Martin, author of "Whom 

 God hath Joined," advocates the strongest pos- 

 sible construction of the marriage tie. James 

 Otis gives us " Silent Pete, or the Stowaways " ; 

 and in the same direction, with a nautical mo- 

 tive, is "All Taut," by Oliver Optic, in which 

 he tells how his favorite " ne'er do weels " in 

 a boy's school are reformed by being put at 

 work on the rigging and equipment of a 

 schooner. Edmund Pendleton's "Conventional 

 Bohemian " is a society novel, with the New 

 England coast for its stage, and the occupants 

 of summer cottages for actors. " The Madon- 

 na of the Tubs" is one of Elizabeth Stuart 

 Phelps'sbest modern tales, and, fictitious though 

 it be, is true enough to be classed as semi- 

 biographical. Her " Burglars in Paradise " is 

 supplementary to an "Old Maids' Paradise," 

 and like it in its fund of brightness and wit. 

 Frank R. Stockton's first appearance in book 

 form, without previous introduction as a serial, 

 was "The Late Mrs. Null." His "Casting 

 away of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine," pub- 

 lished later in the season, is a delightful bit 

 of refined burlesque. He also published "A 

 Christinas Wreck." "A Sentimental Calen- 

 dar," by J. S., of Dale (F. J. Stimson), sustains 

 the author's reputation as an ingenious and 

 clever writer. "Two Modern Animals in the 

 Tower," "Polly," and "Hester and other New 

 England Stories," by Margaret Sydney, are ex- 

 cellent stories of their class. George Alfred 

 Townsend's " Katy of Catoctin " introduces so 

 many real, personal, and local names that were 

 in everybody's mouth daring the war period 

 that it should almost be classed as history. Its 

 most conspicuous passages are those that relate 

 to the assassination of President Lincoln, and 

 the stirring events of contemporary interest. 



J. T. Trowbridge's "The Little Master "tells 

 the tale of a young New England school-teach- 

 er, who has his eyes opened at an early age to 

 the depravity of human nature alike in boys 

 and in the grown-up folk of a rural village. 

 In " Their Pilgrimage " Charles Dudley W;ir- 

 ren mingles the romance of modern life and 

 the possibilities of modern travel in altogether 

 charming proportions. C. S. Reinhart, who 

 furnished the illustrations, is entitled to credit 

 for the intelligence and appreciativeness with 

 which he has entered into the spirit of Mr. 

 Warner's story. W. O. Stoddard's clever 

 Western stories, "Two Arrows" and "Red 

 Beauty," and Kirk Monroe's " Wakulla," re- 

 counting the experiences of Northern emigrants 

 in Florida, are among the best "Juveniles" of 

 the year. Another book of romantic interest 

 by the same author is " Flamingo Feather." 



It seems hardly fitting to place a story of 

 feudalism in old Japan among the novels of 

 1886, yet "A Murmasa Blade' 1 is essentially a 

 romance. Louis Wertheimer is the author, a 

 careful student of Japanese customs, traditions, 

 and literature. The illustrations are by a Jap- 

 anese artist. "East Angels," by Constance 

 Fenimore Woolson, was one of the undoubted 

 successes of the year, dealing with Florida as 

 it was in the old days, and presenting quaint 

 and charming characters and scenes in natural 

 yet striking colors. Mrs. J. II. Wai worth pub- 

 lished two books, namely, " Without Blemish " 

 and "The New Man at Rossmere," which pre- 

 sented some telling pictures of Southern life. 

 Among the noteworthy anonymous novels are 

 " Constance of Acadia," dealing with New 

 France and the settlement of the province; 

 "Toward the Gulf," a romance of Louisiana, 

 touching upon the admixture of races in that 

 semi-tropical region; "A Demigod"; "The 

 Terrace of Mon Desir " ; " Inquirendo Island " ; 

 "Jacob Schuyler's Millions"; "Justina," 

 addition to the third u No-Name Series," 

 not been publicly acknowledged by its author. 

 " Henry Hays " is believed to be the pen-name 

 of Ellen Olney Kirk. His or her "The Story 

 of Margaret Kent," already referred to, wt 

 one of the successful novels of the year, ai 

 should take rank near the head of the list in a 

 comparative order of merit. 



Other noteworthy books are "Roland Blake," 

 by S. Weir Mitchell ; " Old Boniface," George 

 H. Picard ; " A Plucky One," Mrs. G. E. Spen- 

 cer; " Agnes Surriage," Edwin Lassetter By- 

 ner ; " A Banker of Bankerville," Maurice 

 Thompson; "The Psychologist," Putnam P. 

 Bishop ; " Love and Luck," R. B. Roosevelt ; 

 " Hannibal of New York," T. Wharton ; " The 

 Chamber over the Gate," Margaret Holms ; 

 " The Captain of the Janizaries," James M. 

 Ludlow; "Next Door," Clara Louise Burn- 

 ham; "The Lost Name," Mrs. Dahlgren; 

 " Rankin's Remains," Barrett Wendell; "Tu- 

 lip Place," Virginia W. Johnson; "A Fort- 

 night in Heaven," Harold Brydges ; "The 

 Long Run," Rose E. Cleveland ; " Atalanta in 



