rare creative power called literary genius, we should name "The Greater Inclination," by Mrs. Edith Wharton.—The Bookman.
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Her style is as finished as a cameo, and there is nowhere an indication of haste or crudity or the least inattention to detail. Only a woman to the manner born in society, a woman, too, whose literary favorites or her literary masters may have been Thackeray or James, since she partakes of the spirit of the one, and has followed the exquisite workmanship of the other, could have written "The Pelican" or "Souls Belated."—Literature.
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Mrs. Wharton has not only observed people carefully, but has really perceived the subtle significance of their ordinary aspects, so that her figures are not only individuals but types. This sympathetic and suggestive portrayal and the generally optimistic and moral tone make "The Greater Inclination" a book of really great value.—Boston Transcript.
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Mrs. Wharton shows us so much delicacy of touch, so much clarity and neatness of style, and at times so much profundity of comprehension as to make her volume quite unique among the books that have been sent to us this year. . . . We could go on quoting indefinitely, so full is Mrs. Wharton's book of thoughts that are startlingly original in substance and given with a most vivid sense of form; but we prefer to commend the volume most unreservedly to every reader, since nothing that we have seen this year in fiction-writing has seemed to us so memorable, both in its choice of subjects, its mastery of style, and its piquant art that makes one think and wonder.—N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.
Charles Scribner's Sons, Publishers
153–157 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
