+ =N. Y. Times.= 12: 540. S. 7, ’07. 70w.
=Barine, Arvede, pseud. (Mrs. Charles Vincens).= Life of Alfred de Musset; done into English by Charles C. Hayden. Il. subs. Hill, E. C.
“Arvède Barine’s little book shows a curious grasp of essentials in both biography and criticism. In the former she presents only that which influenced or found expression in the poet’s verse and prose; in the latter she preserves sufficient contemporary criticism which is essential in defining de Musset’s place today in French letters, rightly conjecturing that the future will still further qualify and reduce the essential fragments of to-day.”—N. Y. Times.
“Creditable English version. Mr. Barine had access to intimate sources, and his work is marked by literary finish and sympathetic insight into the extraordinary epoch of French romanticism.”
“The account of the liaison with George Sand, on which his life turns and which might prove an attraction for the desultory reader, is anything but satisfactory from any point of view. Nor is the translation itself, though well enough in general, such a masterpiece of English as to merit a setting quite so luxurious.”
+ =N. Y. Times.= 12: 85. F. 9, ’07. 580w.
=Barine, Arvede, pseud. (Mrs. Charles Vincens).= Princesses and court ladies; authorized Eng. version. **$3. Putnam.
The third of the author’s series on the lives of royalties translated from the French. The five women who are sketched here and who played parts in the history of Europe are Marie Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin; Christina of Sweden; the Duchess of Maine, granddaughter of Le Grand Condé; the Margravine of Bayreuth, Frederick the Great’s sister; and “An Arab princess.”
“It is unfortunately only one more instance of the poor standard of translation now prevalent.”
“Writes in a popular style that does not obtrude its background of scholarship, but nevertheless depends upon it to avoid any suspicion of cheapness or superficiality.”
“The text is vivacious and sprightly, and is heightened by many interesting pictures.”
“It is as vivid as a gypsy dance, as entertaining as a fairy tale.” Hildegarde Hawthorne.
“The chapter on ‘An Arab princess’ ... is as interesting a piece of biography as we have seen for some time.”