Talk:Wee Macgreegor

Information about this edition
Edition:	Edition: New York: Grossett & Dunlap; undated, copyright not mentioned.
Source:	https://archive.org/details/weemacgreegorsco00belliala
Contributor(s):	veni vidi
Level of progress:
Notes:
Proofreaders:	ditto

Reviews

• The Outlook, 25 April 1903:

We are told that this book has "taken England by storm." This seems rather a strong expression for any possible effect of these slight sketches about a little Scottish boy, his tricks and teasing, the whole expressed in the hardest kind of rough dialect. But it is true that there is plenty of human nature in the lad and his doting parents, and the humor, if not very refined, is perfectly genuine.

• The Nation, 11 June 1903:

Any one who understands Lowland Scotch may get an hour's amusement out of 'Wee Macgreegor.' The inquisitive child and his doting parents are Glasgow folk drawn from the life and to the life. If they are exceptional at all it is in possessing more leisure and good temper than most Scotch families of the lower class. Mr. Bell's method is strikingly clever; The sketches are done in dialogue almost without description or explanatory comment, yet the Robinson family's characteristics are clearly revealed, and though the reader feels the presence of ironical humor, the author preserves gravity, never appearing to know that he is in the least funny. The few passages written in English show that Mr. Bell can use that language effectively both for plain statement and for humorous satire.

• The Literary Digest, 6 June 1903:

We understand that " Wee McGreegor" was published in England at the author's expense and made money for him—a circumstance which is unusual enough to be noted. The same delight in homely and humorous people that has made "Mrs. Wiggs" and "Lovey Mary" such successes on this side of the water has caused the success of "Wee McGreegor." It is fairly safe to predict that the people in this country who enjoyed the prattle of the dwellers in the "Cabbage Patch" will also enjoy the talk of the little Scotch boy. There is no plot, no sequence of events of any kind. There is no motive and no moral to the' book. It is merely the perfectly natural talk of a little boy and of his parents, who spoil him abominably.

There is no note of exaggeration or burlesque; it is merely a very unpretentious page out of real life. Drama, romance, plot, and style are all very well in their way; but when all is said and done, the thing which touches every one's heart and pleases every one is simple and kindly human nature. It was the homely wisdom of "David Harum" which people cared for, in spite of its bad construction. "Lovey Mary," who "answered so well to primming," has won more hearts than any other of this year's heroines. So "Wee McGreegor," who is a little glutton and no hero in any way, will find people by the thousands to be amused with his commonplace little doings, so well described by the author.

There is another reason for the popularity of such books. They are easy to read. They do not tax one's attention. They neither bore one nor excite one, yet there is enough going on to keep a contented smile on one's face. In a country where people work so hard, they want from books what they demand from the theater—a little gentle amusement.