Novel 169: Arthur Locker, Sweet Seventeen (1866)

James Jacques Joseph Tissot, Visitors to London

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An orphan girl, adopted by a London doctor, has rival lovers.

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Arthur Locker (1828-1893), a journalist and editor, published five novels between 1863 and 1874.  This one begins in Australia, where the author spent some years, but is mostly set in middle-class London.

“Those writers of prose fiction who season their pages with mysterious crime and repulsive vice, should study the modes by which Mr. Locker captivates the imagination of his readers with scenes alike humorous and innocent.  Instead of making them endure his characters by rousing a morbid curiosity as to the sequel and result of a startling commencement, he leads them to enjoy his story by inspiring them with personal interest in its characters.  From first to last the book is fresh with nature and unconstrained pleasantry.  The actors are neither tame nor commonplace; the incidents bear no resemblance to the conventional arrangement of story-tellers; and yet the drama impresses us with a sense of its fidelity to human nature and society in such a manner that we seem to encounter old friends and familiar faces in every scene. . . .  The world described is that of the middle and lower grades of our great middle-class—the world of professional men and merchants, clerks, and petty tradesmen; and with never-flagging humour does Mr. Locker set forth the ways and tempers of the various persons who are made to illustrate this comparatively humble life.” Athenaeum, November 10, 1866

“The author . . . has produced one of the most agreeable, if not one of the most instructive, tales of fiction of the season.  It is graceful and unpretending.  It discloses no profound philosophy, displays no erudition, professes no high moral aim, but amuses and delights by the natural exhibition of character under varied circumstances and unexampled situations. . . .  Mr. Locker weaves his love story with gentle tissues.  There are no wild flights of passion, no desperate deeds of vengeance, nor suicides; all is natural, fluent of feeling that is subdued and rational, and issuing in results probable, pleasing, and in harmony with the means employed.  One of the charms of Mr. Locker’s novel is its realism, with sufficient sentiment and fancy to link the real with the ideal.” Morning Post, December 11, 1866

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_0000000458D0#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-116%2C0%2C2833%2C2094

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_0000000458D6#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-119%2C0%2C2848%2C2104

v.3 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_0000000462BA#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-111%2C0%2C2842%2C2101

Crossword 168: MP5

Margaret Sarah Carpenter, Mrs John Marshall, MP

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You’ve heard of MP3, a format for compressing recorded music files to a convenient size, and MP4, a format for compressing movies to a convenient size.  Now here’s MP5! It isn’t a format, and it doesn’t compress anything to a convenient size. It’s just a crossword puzzle. Nevertheless, in its quiet, unassuming way, it makes its own tiny contribution to the sum of human achievement.

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168-MP5.puz

168-MP5.pdf

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168-MP5

Novel 168: Mrs. Alexander, Which Shall it Be? (1866)

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An orphaned virtuous young lady seeks to make her way despite her relatives’ selfish unhelpfulness.

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Here is another novel by “Mrs. Alexander” (see Novels  001, 063, 113) with her usual vivid characters, dramatic situations, and gratifying if impossible plot.

“No one can read this book without being struck by the more than ordinary ability that it displays. . . .  It is . . . written with a fluency, an ease, a knowledge of literary manipulation, and a ripeness of worldly wisdom that would seem to indicate the practiced hand of a mature writer. . . .   There are many observations scattered about, too, which show that the author has had unusually rich opportunities for studying life in various phases.  There is a knowledge of the bitter ways and clever makeshifts of poverty, as well as of the parade and hollow friendships springing up like mushrooms in a night round unexpected wealth . . .; while many of the characters are careful life-studies. . . .  It deals with difficult questions with the quiet boldness of a Voltairean of the nineteenth century. . . .  The character of Madeline throughout is of great psychological power.” Saturday Review, September 22, 1866

“A novel of much interest and power. . . . The work is remarkable for the fidelity of its pictures of domestic life, both English and French, which convey to the reader an irresistible impression of probability and reality, and of being presented by an eyewitness. . . .  The story is full of incident and well-drawn character.  ‘Which Shall It Be?’ is a novel of great literary and constructive merit, and evinces penetrating observation of character as well as lively descriptive power.  As a story it excites vivid interest from the beginning, and sustains it to the end.” Examiner, October 12, 1866

Download this week’s novel:

http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/permalink/f/89vilt/oxfaleph014211328

(Right-click (or control-click, if you have a Mac) on the three “view digitized copy” links to download the novel’s three volumes in pdf form)

Crossword 167: Power Plugs

Lord Frederic Leighton, The Arts of Industry as Applied to Peace

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In this puzzle I interrogate our society’s underlying structures of power, as part of my ongoing critique of post-modern, late-capitalist cultural hegemony.

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167-Power-Plugs.puz

167-Power-Plugs.pdf

Solve this week’s crossword online:

167 Power Plugs

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A crossword of mine appeared last Thursday, January 28th, in the Wall Street Journal.

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Novel 167: Elliott Graeme, A Novel with Two Heroes (1872)

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A young German music student befriends an English student at a German university.

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About Elliott Graeme, nothing appears to be known except that, in addition to this one novel, he (or she: contemporary critics use both pronouns) also wrote a biography of Beethoven.  The oddly rambling plot here suggests unfamiliarity with, or indifference to, contemporary novelistic convention, but the characters and settings are well realized.

“A decided literary success.  The story is written in a lively and agreeable style.” Athenaeum, March 16, 1872

“We doubt not many of our readers will lay aside the book with regret; for the pourtrayal of character and detail of German home-life is sufficiently vivid to make us think we are parting with old friends.  The language used is felicitous, and the author is by no means deficient in humour.” Musical Standard, June 1, 1872

“Above the average even of good novels.  It is clever and amusing, free from sensationalism, though full of interest, and of interest which touches many of the deeper chords of life.” Spectator, June 15, 1872

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004CED8#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-1098%2C-1%2C3632%2C2342

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004CEDE#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-1111%2C0%2C3649%2C2352

Crossword 166: The Latest Reports

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I encourage you, gentle solver, to admire the painting above and its title while you recall the reports of the past week (especially of Wednesday around noon), and only then, with a calm soul and clear head, to open this week’s puzzle—which, I am pleased to report, has nothing to do with anything.

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166-The-Latest-Reports.puz

166-The-Latest-Reports.pdf

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166 The Latest Reports

Novel 166: Edward Dutton Cook, Hobson's Choice (1866)

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A bachelor barrister goes to visit his aunt—and his heiress cousin—at a seaside town.

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Here is another lively novel by Cook (see Novels 040, 111), this one relatively brief.

“An afternoon spent on Hobson’s Choice will be spent pleasantly, and produce no small crop of apparently causeless laughs in secret places afterwards, as the better passages return suddenly to the memory.” Spectator, December 29, 1866

“A single volume of light and sparkling prose, that may be read through in a railway journey.” Athenaeum, January 26, 1867

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http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000003A13A#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-547%2C-127%2C2522%2C2533

Crossword 165: Last in Line

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Can this be the end?  Is this the last puzzle I’ll post to this website?  Have I finally turned in disgust from an ungrateful world, resolved never to cross words again?  Or is this just another punning reference to my theme?  Come back next week and find out!

(NB: The clue to 23 Across, once the weakest, now the strongest, of the puzzle’s theme clues, is in fact the inspiration of Canadian test-solver Kevin Walker.)

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165 Last-in-Line.puz

165 Last-in-Line.pdf

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165 Last in Line

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A crossword of mine appears today in the Wall Street Journal.

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Novel 165: Sir Arthur Hallam Elton, Herbert Chauncey (1860)

Walter Field, Men were Deceivers Ever

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A faithless lover is secretly pursued by a vindictive father.

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Sir Arthur Hallam Elton (1818-1883), a baronet and member of Parliament, wrote only two novels, of which this is the second. The characters are interesting, the style good, and the plot involving, though it ends with odd abruptness, seeming to hint at a sequel that never came.

“We congratulate Sir Arthur Elton and the public” on his “brilliant success. . . .  Among the distinguishing merits of the novel . . . are the freshness and artistic construction of the story.  It is full of variety, yet its unity is perfectly preserved, unbroken by a single episode.  Its interest increases in intensity with an even progression from the first chapter to the last.” Spectator, August 4, 1860

“There is a largeness and simplicity in the conception of the plot, which is worked out with facile dialogue and in a narrative that never flags.  There are no tedious descriptions, no second-hand moralities, all is action and passion well presented.” Examiner, October 13, 1860

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v.1 https://archive.org/details/herbertchaunceym01elto

v.2 https://archive.org/details/herbertchaunceym02elton

v.3 https://archive.org/details/herbertchaunceym03elton

Crossword 164: Hiding Places

James Jacques Joseph Tissot, Hide and Seek

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Carefully concealed in this puzzle’s grid of mystery are no fewer than seven (7) hiding places. To find them, all you need to do is just work hard and believe in yourself.

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164-Hiding-Places.puz

164-Hiding-Places.pdf

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164 Hiding Places

Novel 164: Amelia Perrier, A Good Match (1872)

George Elgar Hicks, Maud

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A spirited young lady resists her cruel baronet uncle’s plan to marry her to a wealthy pork-dealer.

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Amelia Perrier (1841-1875) wrote two novels during her sadly brief career, of which this sprightly social comedy, featuring a refreshingly assertive heroine, is the second.

“‘A Good Match’ is very brisk and vivacious, and sparkles with arch humour.  Its heroine . . . tells her own story with a keen sense of fun in its recital. . . .  The charm of the story is its freshness, vigour, and dash. . . . The two volumes bristle with little keen, sharp sayings.  But beyond the charm of manner there is a deeper and truer charm . . . which is the thorough unaffected contempt of the writer for all that is base and cruel and mean.” Examiner, June 22, 1872

“Miss Perrier’s pen is perfectly unlaboured; she writes with ease, and apparently, out of a merry heart, in which the humour is untainted by cynicism; and it is a relief to sit down with two little volumes like these—trifling though the story is—after wearing through novels and tales innumerable, wrought, with much painstaking ability, out of their authors’ profound misconception of their own ability. . . . It reads like what it pretends to be, the autobiography of a healthy-minded, handsome girl, too courageous to be cowed by the kicks and cuffs of unloving relatives.” Spectator, November 2, 1872

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004D724#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-889%2C-125%2C3203%2C2480

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_00000004D72A#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=4&xywh=-71%2C-147%2C2766%2C2142

Crossword 163: P-p-puns

George Dunlop Leslie, Sweet Peas

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Now and then, in the major crossword venues, one finds a puzzle in which the theme answers consist of common two-word phrases that start with the same one or two letters.  POISONPILL PINGPONG PARCELPOST POLOPONY—voilà.  That theme took me just sixty seconds to produce.  No doubt a competent programmer with access to a phrase database could make a computer produce sixty such puzzles in sixty seconds.  And they would be just as much fun to solve as they were to make.

Why is such a theme acceptable?  Does anyone know?  I don’t get it.  Anyway, today’s puzzle represents my effort to improve on it.

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163-P-P-Puns.puz

163-P-P-Puns.pdf

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163 P-P-Puns

Novel 163: Justin McCarthy, Miss Misanthrope (1877)

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A virtuous young lady moves to London, determined to live there a life of cultured independence.

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Here is another novel by McCarthy (see Novel 059), with a variety of vivid characters and  some amusing incidental satire on poetic modernism.

“These two volumes . . . contain some of the most felicitous studies of character that we have seen for a long while. . . .  We should say that intelligence—free, kindly vision—(with high conscientiousness and much goodness of heart) was Mr. McCarthy’s strong point as a novelist.  He always understands; and he makes his readers understand.  He has, also, plenty of kindly humour. . . . He has given us a brilliant and thoughtful novel:  which may also be treated, if the reader pleases, as an essay of rare intelligence and fine humour, illustrated by social studies of great fidelity, wholly free from any taint of cynicism or high-flying sentiment.” Contemporary Review, December 1, 1877

“Miss Misanthrope is indeed, to our thinking, a work which has some very striking merits. . . .  The characters are fresh and consistently kept up. . . .  The author displays a singular talent in dealing with mixed motives, and exhibiting without any tiresome display of analytical power his just observation of the working of ordinary as well as unusual natures. . . .  Those who care for a keen—one might almost say a brilliant—chronicle of the fashions and follies of the times, the satire of which is just enough dashed with tenderness, are certain to read Mr. McCarthy’s novel with pleasure.” Saturday Review, January 12, 1878

“It is difficult to know where one should begin one’s praise of this brilliant and charming book. . . .  which is at once vigorous in conception, brilliant in execution, pure in sentiment, and faultless in design.” Examiner, January 26, 1878

Download this week’s novel:

https://archive.org/details/missmisanthrope00mcca

Crossword 162: Editorial Changes

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Does any artist in any field face such ruthless editorial tinkering as the poor crossword constructor?  You shape and carve and etch and hone and polish your little gem till it shines and sparkles and glistens and glows, and (if you’re lucky enough to have it accepted) it appears in print lopped and maimed and marred and scratched and sullied.  Your reference to a favorite musician has turned into a reference to a TV actor you’ve never heard of.  Two of your answers have been tortured into a cross-referenced phrase.  The wit of a favorite theme clue has evaporated in the unwelcoming atmosphere of somebody’s dubious assumptions.  Now and then, to be sure, you find a real improvement—but that only wounds your authorial vanity all the more.

Well, here’s a puzzle where I made all the editorial changes my own self.

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162-Editorial-Changes.puz

162-Editorial-Changes.pdf

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162 Editorial Changes

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A crossword of mine appears on Wednesday, December 30, in the Wall Street Journal.

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Novel 162: Edward Eggleston, The Faith Doctor (1891)

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A fashionable young banker falls in love with an earnestly Christian woman.

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Edward Eggleston (1837-1902) was a Methodist minister, a magazine editor, and a historian as well as a novelist; he wrote a dozen or so works of fiction in various genres.  This one, in its vivid portrayal of 1880s New York, its nuanced delineation of complex characters, its careful, plausible plot, its apt and witty style, is a sadly forgotten masterpiece.

“As a study of American life . . . The Faith Doctor is a strikingly clever book. . . . One breathes the very air of New York while following the rapid movements of the story; and the impression which it leaves upon the mind is that of having talked with all manner of interesting people, on topics that will keep one thinking.” Academy, January 9, 1892

“This is a really admirable novel. . . .  There are excellent social sketches, and more than one character drawn with a delicate skill which would do credit to any writer of fiction. . . .  The writing throughout is of very good quality.  The Faith-Doctor is worth reading for its style, its wit, and its humour, and not less . . . for its pathos.” Spectator, March 19, 1892

Download this week’s novel:

https://archive.org/details/faithdoctorstory00egglrich

Crossword 161: Noels

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If you think this week’s puzzle involves Christmas carols—and are in consequence either thankful (you actually know what it is that King Wenceslas does after he looks out on the feast of Stephen!) or resentful (you can’t stand the damned things coming around every year!)—you haven’t been paying attention.

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161-Noels.puz

161-Noels.pdf

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161 Noels

Novel 161: Sir Henry Stewart Cunningham, Late Laurels (1864)

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A restless, flirtatious young lady makes trouble between her neighbors.

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Here is another novel by Cunningham (see Novel 020).  The style is bright and the characterization subtle.  (There is also some political satire, which no doubt had more point in 1864 than it does now.)

“As pleasant a tale as readers not vowed to a predilection for sensation novels could desire.” Athenaeum, June 4, 1864

“The style is always pure, and often brilliant, and the dialogue displays considerable mastery of . . . light repartee.” Westminster Review, June 1864

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v.1 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_000000043C2C#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-883%2C-126%2C3234%2C2504

v.2 http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_000000043C32#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-847%2C-123%2C3174%2C2457

Crossword 160: OLÉ

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, An Oleander

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Have no fear:  this puzzle has nothing to do with bullfighting, or soccer, or anything that requires you to watch people kill animals or run around on a rectangular surface.  I put an accent over the "e" just for the look of the thing. 

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160-Olé.puz

160-Olé.pdf

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160 Olé

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A crossword of mine appears tomorrow, December 13, in Universal Crossword

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Novel 160: Mrs. Henry Wood, Roland Yorke (1869)

Richard Dadd, Portrait of a Young Man

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A man is murdered; several characters are suspected in turn.

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Here is the sequel to last week’s novel, The Channings, featuring (in addition to a few members of its exemplary title family) its scapegrace anti-hero, back from Africa and plunged in the midst of a murder mystery. It includes also a virtuous novelist killed by a bad review in a journal called The Snarler.

“A murder is started, pursued, worried, treated in fact like a hunted criminal.  Anxious to find its proper home, it seeks refuge, first under a flimsy disguise of suicide, then in the arms of this or that innocent person.  The most unlikely persons are pitched upon inevitably by the reader, and the real author of the disaster is untouched by suspicion up to the very last moment.  We must, in fairness, give Mrs. Wood credit for much care and ingenuity in keeping us in the dark so long. . . . There is something of original conception in the character of Roland Yorke.” Athenaeum, October 16, 1869

“It says a good deal for Mrs. Wood’s powers of narration that her story should show so smoothly as it does, interwoven as it is with a tissue of extravagances  and incongruities.” Saturday Review, March 5, 1870

Download this week’s novel:

https://archive.org/details/rolandyorkeseque00wood

Crossword 159: Not According to Hoyle

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All the clues for this puzzle’s theme bear a sort of sideways relationship to their answers; three of the five themed clue-answer sets appear to make no mention of the theme they jointly imply.  Puns are piled upon, or wedged within, puns. When I made the puzzle I thought this was enormously clever; now I’m half-convinced it’s just annoyingly obscure.  

Well, either way, the cost to you is the same.  And even if you don’t like the theme, the fill is full of fun things like animals (I count ten of them, including a fish, three birds, two insects, an amphibian, and three mammals), and foreign pronouns (only two—maybe more next time!).

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159-Not-According-to-Hoyle.puz

159-Not-According-to-Hoyle.pdf

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159 Not According to Hoyle

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A crossword of mine appears on Thursday, December 10, in the Wall Street Journal.

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