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This blog makes liberal use of AB's journals, letters, travel notes, and other sources.


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Tuesday 26 February 2013

Successes

Sunday, February 26th., Rue de Grenelle, Paris.

Reviews of "The Card" much too kind on the whole. Six on the first day, 6 or 8 on the second. Dixon Scott's in M. Guardian one of the best I ever had, and no effusiveness either.
He writes for example:

  • "The Card is genuine Bennett; it flings a happy light on the whole fascinating Bennett problem; and indeed the really fundamental thing to say about it, comparatively, is not that it ought to have 'Clayhanger's' qualities, but that 'Clayhanger' would be better if it had some of the qualities of 'The Card'. 
  • And: " ... it is probably true that to enjoy 'The Card' completely you must be lucky enough to be born a little nearer to the centre of things than London. To appreciate Mr. Bennett's art, a purely provincial product, to see all that it stands for and all that it is bringing us, you too must be a provincial ..."
  • And: " ... it is the very furiosity of the fun, the element of fantasy and extravagance, that gives the last touch of truth to the tale as a picture of reality."

I did practically no work between Monday and Saturday, but 3,500 words on these two days. In between I was mysteriously ill. I hope to finish the second part of "Hilda" a week today. But tant pis if I can't.
News of edition of "Sacred and Profane Love" with my water-colour cover arrived from United States on Wednesday, together with figures showing that Doran had sold about 35,000 copies of my various books (in about eight months I think). This does not include Dutton's books nor Brentano's editions of "Buried Alive".

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