ROBERT HARDY'S SEVEN DAYS, And THE TWENTIETH DOOR.
Br C. M. Sheldon.
1 Melbourne : Ward, Lock, and Co. Mr Sheldon has evidently caught the popu£g£ $§s£e of that portion of the American
people represented by his own congregation, for whose delectation on Sunday evenings the stories were specially written. But the author has at the same time an .eye to the main chance, and having found his own people hang upon his words with thrilling interest, he has sought the aid of the publisher to find a wider audience. Mr Sheldon has a vivid imagination, and in consequence Ms characters stand out from every page as living men and women — just such people as one might meet in every-day contact with the world. The vision of Robert Hardy, in which it is revealed to him that lie has but seven days to live, is a vivid piece of imagery, and gives an uncanny, unreal flavour to the whole story. However, the means by which the doomed man undertook to atone for the selfishness of a life time during the seven days is a splendid exposition of Christian duty — of the duty a man owes to his fellows. "The Twentieth Door" is an admirable book for boys, since it deals with farm life on the prairie and boy life at college. The picture of the struggle against adverse circumstances by the bedridden widow and her two sons and daughter is boldly sketched, and Paul and David and Ruth Sidney become living persons in whom the reader takes the liveliest interest. The brave struggle of the younger son to maintain the elder at college portrays a noble piece of self-sacrifice. The account of a blizzard and its effects gives colonial readers a fine conception of what such a storm is like. The description is realistic, and reminds one of Tolstoi's description of a Russian enow storm in "Master and Man." All of Sheldon's works are good v reading, and to those who do not object to" having their sensibilities awakened to the hollowness of modern society profitable withal. The 'ideal he holds out is perhaps unattainable, but it is well to have an ideal. "The Twentieth Door" is the twentieth century, and that was the title of Paul's college declamation, which it is to be hoped will find a readier response amongst the readers of the book than that j awarded Paul by his fellow students.
ROBERT HARDY'S SEVEN DAYS, And THE TWENTIETH DOOR.
Otago Witness, Issue 2375, 7 September 1899, Page 60
No known copyright (New Zealand)
To the best of the National Library of New Zealand’s knowledge, under New Zealand law, there is no copyright in this item in New Zealand.
You can copy this item, share it, and post it on a blog or website. It can be modified, remixed and built upon. It can be used commercially. If reproducing this item, it is helpful to include the source.
For further information please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in