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THE HEART'S HIGHWAY, A Romance Of Virginia In The Seventeenth Century
THE HEART'S HIGHWAY, A Romance Of Virginia In The Seventeenth Century
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An excerpt from "The Critic," Volume 34:
"Miss Wilkins does not despise romance, and it is a relief to turn to her new book, which bears the alluring title of "The Heart's Highway," and is saturated with the sweetness of an ideal affection. Probably no such lover as Harry Maria Wingfield ever graced the seventeenth century with his silent devotion, but it is none the less captivating to read about. The book is a story of colonial Virginia in very early days. It does not challenge comparison with other historical novels of that period, for the reason that while its historical incidents are dramatic and stirring they are, after all, a minor part of its attractiveness. It is really a study of character in pastel-shades, and its action takes place chiefly in the Land of Loyal Hearts. Against the picturesque Virginian background stands out a series of figures delicately yet vigorously drawn and colored. Harry Wingfield, the convict-tutor who took upon himself punishment for a theft he did not commit, is an arrangement in warm grays; Catherine Cavendish, with her cool eyes, her lily-like manner, and her satin gowns of the beloved color, is certainly a study in greens, while Mistress Mary is such a harmony in rose-tints as it becomes a much-adored heroine to be.
"From the first scene, where we see Mary Cavendish gorgeously appareled, riding to Jamestown church of an April morning, a step in front of the quiet tutor and followed by a troop of blacks, to the last scene, where she paces down the New Field in her blue-and-silver brocade to sit beside her lover in the stocks and turn his humiliation into a triumph, the story is told in a series of pictures, and the reader carries away in his mind visions as definite as though the tale had been elaborately staged before the outer eye, instead of being presented only to the inner vision. This vivid visualization which sets the whole procession of events before us like some brilliantly painted pageant, such as Sewall's "Canterbury Pilgrims" or Abbey's " Holy Grail," is perhaps the most remarkable quality of the book. Miss Wilkins had always the power of projecting single figures strongly after this fashion, but she has perhaps never filled a large canvas so decoratively—if one may say so—as in " The Heart's Highway," and this fact alone should insure success in her new field."
"Miss Wilkins does not despise romance, and it is a relief to turn to her new book, which bears the alluring title of "The Heart's Highway," and is saturated with the sweetness of an ideal affection. Probably no such lover as Harry Maria Wingfield ever graced the seventeenth century with his silent devotion, but it is none the less captivating to read about. The book is a story of colonial Virginia in very early days. It does not challenge comparison with other historical novels of that period, for the reason that while its historical incidents are dramatic and stirring they are, after all, a minor part of its attractiveness. It is really a study of character in pastel-shades, and its action takes place chiefly in the Land of Loyal Hearts. Against the picturesque Virginian background stands out a series of figures delicately yet vigorously drawn and colored. Harry Wingfield, the convict-tutor who took upon himself punishment for a theft he did not commit, is an arrangement in warm grays; Catherine Cavendish, with her cool eyes, her lily-like manner, and her satin gowns of the beloved color, is certainly a study in greens, while Mistress Mary is such a harmony in rose-tints as it becomes a much-adored heroine to be.
"From the first scene, where we see Mary Cavendish gorgeously appareled, riding to Jamestown church of an April morning, a step in front of the quiet tutor and followed by a troop of blacks, to the last scene, where she paces down the New Field in her blue-and-silver brocade to sit beside her lover in the stocks and turn his humiliation into a triumph, the story is told in a series of pictures, and the reader carries away in his mind visions as definite as though the tale had been elaborately staged before the outer eye, instead of being presented only to the inner vision. This vivid visualization which sets the whole procession of events before us like some brilliantly painted pageant, such as Sewall's "Canterbury Pilgrims" or Abbey's " Holy Grail," is perhaps the most remarkable quality of the book. Miss Wilkins had always the power of projecting single figures strongly after this fashion, but she has perhaps never filled a large canvas so decoratively—if one may say so—as in " The Heart's Highway," and this fact alone should insure success in her new field."
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