Reviews of Mary Tappan Wright’s The Holidays : Short Stories (2011)

compiled by Brian Kunde

Reviews from: | Sun, 12/9/93 | Reviews of: | Numbered With Thy Saints | How They Cured Him | Alice’s Christmas | The Gray Fur Rug | | Ethel’s Christmas Brother | Children and Books | the collection | These contemporary reviews of some of the component stories of Mary Tappan Wright’s The Holidays : Short Stories in their original magazine printings are reproduced complete, with both positive and negative judgments intact, in the order of their original publication. When incorporated in a larger review also encompassing other writers’ works the works of the other writers may be omitted. —BPK, January 6, 2012. As of the latest update, this page features 1 review. —BPK, March 13, 2012. <— The Sun, December 9, 1893, page 5: [Advertisement] POSNER’S.      FOR TODAY—see CHILDREN’S LONG COATS, MADE OF FANCY MIXED CLOTH, IN LIGHT AND DARK COLORS, GRETCHENS AND NEWMARKETS, WITH CAPES, TWENTY DIFFERENT STYLES, SIZES 6 TO 12 YEARS, WORTH FROM $7 50 TO $10 00. $4 00 EACH. THE LESSON OF AN INCIDENT.      TO BE QUOTED IN A PUBLISHED TALE, BY AN AUTHORESS ABSOLUTELY UNKNOWN TO US, IN A PUBLICATION TO WHICH WE DO NOT SUBSCRIBE, IS AN HONOR OF SELF-PROVEN UNSOLICITATION; BUT WHEN SUCH A PAPER AS YOUTH’S COMPANION EDITORIALLY PERMITS OUR NAME TO ENTER ITS COLUMNS OF ORIGINAL READING MATTER, AND WHEN SUCH A WRITER AS MARY TAPPAN WRIGHT CITES US AS ILLUSTRATING HOW ECONOMICALLY SHOPPING CAN BE DONE, OUR FAME EXCEEDS EVEN OUR OWN EXPECTATIONS. IF YOU WILL REFER TO THE ISSUE OF THE YOUTH’S COMPANION OF NOVEMBER 23, IN A STORY BY MARY TAPPAN WRIGHT, ENTITLED “THE GRAY FUR RUG,” ON PAGE 595 OF THE PUBLICATION, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SECOND COLUMN, YOU WILL FIND THIS:      “Four Dollars for that thing! You can get them for ninety cents at Posner’s”      WHILE WE HAVE BEEN BEFORE REPEATEDLY CITED AS ILLUSTRATING THE MIGHTY PRINCIPLE OF BUSINESS ECONOMY, IT IS UNUSUAL FOR AN AUTHOR OF FICTION TO INVOKE PUBLIC ATTENTION TO A REAL, EXISTING INSTITUTION TO PROVE A POINT OF EXTRAORDINARY DOMESTIC ECONOMY. YOUTH’S COMPANION IS PUBLISHED FIVE HUNDRED MILES FROM BALTIMORE, AND WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW REMOTE THE AUTHORESS MAY RESIDE, BUT AS THE PAPER IS KNOWN TO HAVE SUBSCRIBERS FROM LABRADOR TO NEW ZEALAND, AND FROM NEW YORK TO JAPAN, IT IS SAFE TO SAY THAT THE FACT THAT $4.00 RUGS CAN BE BOUGHT OF US FOR 90 CENTS WILL BE PRETTY WELL ADVERTISED.      NOW FOR THE LESSON:      THE REASON IS LOOKING YOU IN THE FACE WHEN YOU WILL BE CALLED UPON TO MAKE YOUR EARNINGS AND YOUR SAVINGS GO AS FAR AS POSSIBLE TOWARD MAKING YOUR FRIENDS HAPPY AT CHRISTMAS. A HINT OF ECONOMY, EVEN IF PLUCKED FROM A COURIER GOING AROUND THE WORLD, THAT BEARS OUR NAME AS AN EXAMPLE OF WONDERFUL ECONOMY, CERTAINLY MUST COMMEND ITSELF TO OUR HOME PEOPLE, AS THE NOVELIST ASSERTS. BUT WE SELL EVERYTHING UPON A LIKE BASIS OF SAVING TO THE BUYER. LET THE RUG-ITEM SERVE SIMPLY AS A FIGURE OF SPEECH, TO POINT A MORAL. THE MORAL IS WELL TAKEN, NEVER BETTER TAKEN THAN NOW, WHEN YOU CAN APPRECIATE IT MOST.      OPEN TONIGHT UNTIL 10.30. IF YOU WANT US TO HOLD WHAT YOU BUY FOR CHRISTMAS, SUBJECT TO DELIVERY ON ANY CERTAIN DAY AT ANY CERTAIN HOUR, WE WILL ATTEND TO ALL THAT FOR YOU. Posner’S. last section  | main page |  next section These reviews were originally published in the journals credited. The works here reproduced are in the public domain. All other material in this edition is ©2012-2013 by Brian Kunde.