Abstract

Polite Romance vs. Icelandic Saga

The article focuses on some sagas and romantic literature. "Aliens," by William McFee, is all for the free life, dungarees, and a red-blooded self-determination, as against the carking responsibilities of citizenship, lawn-mowers, and domestic routine. The romantic plot in which the quaint hero is involved is an invention, and a very good one. "The Return of the Soldier," by Rebecca West, is likewise, in its way, a story of social denial. It is based upon a novel situation furnished by the chances of war. The author of "Twinkletoes," Thomas Burke, has been highly lauded for his discovery of a new field of romance among the dregs of London's lowest slums. His ruling idea is not new: current fiction is full of virtuous prostitutes, honest gamblers, and kindly murderers.