A Woman's Reason

"A Woman's Reason" is certainly one of the most ambitious novels Mr. Howells has written, not merely because it is so long, but because the author has reached out for effects which he neglected in his earlier books. It is not a radical departure from his established methods, but it indicates a larger and broader conception of the scope, the opportunities, and the resources of his art. The story of Helen Harkness's struggles has an enduring claim upon every reader's sympathy, the incidents of the book are spirited, and the movement is alert, vigorous, and at times highly dramatic in its surprises and suspended interest. The author is so loyal to his heroine that she is rarely permitted to disappear from the scene, but such constancy denotes a steadfastness of purpose and leads to a concentration of interest; this method is always artistic if it can be sustained without becoming tiresome, and there are few para graphs in «A Woman's Reason» which even one who reads for the story alone will care to skip. The keynote is sounded within the first few pages, but the revelation of the motive does not clog the interest of development, and the intelligent reader is the more gratified because the author has paid him the compliment of taking him into his confidence. The story is that of a Boston girl who has been reared without any thought of possible necessity for self-support, is left almost penniless at the death of her father, and surrenders voluntarily the small remnant of the paternal estate to which she had a perfect legal title in order to satisfy her own high sense of principle. She refuses to be de pendent upon friends, and she is separated from her sweetheart by a misunderstanding for which she was to blame. These are conditions which could be made heartrending or sensational, according to the treatment there of; Mr. Howells has the delicate art of making them interesting and sympathetic without straining the probabilities or exciting morbid sentiment.