Show Broun Selects theTen the theTen Ten Best L' L Books Bocks The The International Book Review has gori gong fri r- t for ri he he amusing pastime pas time of ot ll Ii uit t rh rit making kr kIng g. g In th the present pres pres- ent exit issue f n select select the ten petit best written since 1900 or 01 if Jt you ou like dike the ten best books of the the twentieth t century The Judges selected for the sym sym- po lum are Hilaire Hllaire Belloc DeBoe lI Henry hInry nry Seidel Canby Gertrude tertrude Atherton Van an Wyck CK Brooks Christopher Morley m. m Lyon Phelps Maurice laurice Francis Francis' Eg Carl Van Vechten John Erskine and Richard Richard Richard Rich Rich- ard Lo Le There Thee Is of co course a great dl- dl In selection Thomas Hardy appears more frequently than any other author Four of the Judges f have selected The Tb b Dynasts Joseph Jos eph Conrad is J- J represented pre three times but each time by a different I book hook Gertrude Gertrud Atherton lists I He Henry y Seidel Canby selects Youth and nd Christopher Morley lorley stands lay A A Personal If Record no Roman aln Rollands Rolland's Jean I Christophe appears three times Umes as do the plays ot of John M. M and Spoon n River Anthology by f Edgar Lee Leef Masters f No other I books are mentioned m more than twice I There There are jUst Justine books which enlisted two friends The nine so honored ar are are areas as follows Hailand Hall Hail Halland Halland and Farewell by George Moore I Eminent Vict Victorians by Lytton Stra hey Pelle the Conqueror by M. M A. A The Tragic Sense of Life by no The Greek Common Commonwealth by Zimmern The Everlasting Mercy lercy by Masefield Seven Seve Men Ien by Max Beerbohm The Forsythe Foray the Saga by Galsworthy and Joseph Vance by De Morgan I It seems to u us that H H. G. G Wells Yells is excessively neg neglected by the list list- list list-I makers and also Shaw who who- does not appear on a single list John I Erskine picks The Outline of His History tory and Dr Maurice Ma rice Francis Egan mentions both Marriage and Tony Bungay but taut all aIt the others pass pass pass' Wells by Cabell's Jurgen gets one vote from Gertrude Atherton Atherton Atherton Ather Ather- ton i and Varl Van Vechten places Babbitt of Sinclair lr Lewis as No 10 on his list Van Vechten also gives a lone vote to Joseph Herge- Herge shelmer mentioning San Cristobal bal balde de do la Ia Habana Far too many good books hooks have been left out V We dont understand dont understand how all an ten m of the tho judges judges' managed to pass by Shaws Shaw's and I the Lion which Lion which was pu published In 1912 1012 Nor or can we endure It that Far Away and Long Ago Is not I put forward Van Wyck ck Brooks has selected Green Mansions but we prefer Far Away way and and Long Ago as the best work Of Hudson and Infinitely the finest st title In modern litel literature Moreover we are not satisfied to have Joan and Peter Ieter omitted Still instead of complaining we had better make up UI a list of our own Here It Is with those books which appear In the selections of I one of the Judges marked beat to Indicate that they are exclusive In this paper Kim by Rudyard Kipling J beat Androcles and the Lion I. I by Bernard Shaw beat Joan and Peter by H. H G. G Wells beat Seven Sev en Men Ien by Max Beerbohm The TheOld TheOld TheOld Old Wives Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett Bennett Bennett Ben Ben- nett ZulEika Dobson by Max Beerbohm beat We are not sure of the date of this book as it is not given In Vho's Who but it cannot cannot cannot can can- not have been much before 1900 and probably was a year or two later Typhoon by Joseph Conrad beat The Outline of History and The History of ot Mr 11 Polly beat by II ir G. G Wells Wel s and p Penguin Pen n- n gum guin Island by Anatole France Ten is too small a limit Here weare weare we wo are at lt t the end of our tether and we still have on our hands Love BunJa Bungay Bungay Bun- Bun and Mr Lewisham Tony Ja gay and Kipps all by H. H G. G Wells Then there Is The Sea and the Jungle by Tomlinson which has gone by the list list- makers As a matter of fact we shall never be content without submitting submitting submitting sub sub- an additional list On this we would put Tony Bungay Bunga Love LoITe and Mr 11 L Lewisham wisham The Sea and the Jungle Jungle Jungle Jun Jun- gle The Story of Mankind b lyVan ly Van Loan Ethan Frome Edith Wharton Back to Methuselah by Bernard Shaw Miss Lulu Bett by Zona Gale Queen Victoria by Lytton Jurgen by James Branch Cabell and Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis Heywood Hey wood Broun In New York World |