For any one desiring to get at the true spirit and meaning of Walt Whitman's poetry, there could be no better introduction than this compact and illuminating volume. Mr. Noyes, who has made a life-long study of Whitman, writes of him with peculiar insight and clarity. The chapters deal with Whitman the Man, with his Art, his Human Appeal, his Attitude toward God and Religion, and, finally, with his unique message to the individual reader. The book is in no sense a competitor with any of the biographies of Whitman,--but, rather, complementary to them. No lover of the Good Gray Poet can afford to overlook it, while many who have been perhaps but indifferently interested in Whitman will find this book a stimulus to further study. It is illustrated with a rare photograph reproduced in photogravure, together with a facsimile of an interesting piece of unpublished manuscript.
Mr. Noyes was for several years an instructor in the English Department of Harvard University, but is now devoting himself entirely to letters. (_Ready in April_)
This is a unique book of intense human interest, written by a well-known English author whose name is, by her own desire, withheld. These Letters, or confessions, tell the story of a woman's early wedded life with remarkable poignancy, and with a humor, tenderness, picturesqueness, and lack of self-consciousness, that cannot fail to win thousands of readers, especially women. The volume is unlike all other books of fiction. It cannot be described; it must be read. It is, in short, the book of a woman's heart written with a mingling of frankness and reserve, of strong feeling and literary skill that will make a permanent impression. (_Ready in May_)
Illustrated. Crown 8vo, $1.50 _net_. Postage extra. [Also, School Edition, $1.25 _net_. Postpaid.]
This book does for the theatre what Bliss Perry's "Study of Prose Fiction" does for the novel. It is a clear and able study, not of the closet-drama, but of the actual stage play. It is not a history of the drama, though a great deal of sound dramatic history comes in incidentally. It is rather an exposition of the conditions which determine the method in which a play is constructed and which make for its significance and success. In its helpfulness for the intelligent play-goer who wants to understand what he sees and judge plays readily and soundly, it is unique. Prof. Matthews has been for many years professor of dramatic literature in Columbia University, and as a writer upon the drama he has won a position of undisputed authority. This book embodies the results of his life-long studies. It is illustrated with plans and views of famous theatres.