Calhoun School - Ink Pot Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Q 1936 INK POT Q Once A Grand Duke By GRAND DUKE ALEXANDER or RUSSIA French Socialists were alarmed at having so many RomanofIs in Paris, but in reality there were only seventeen Russians of the Imperial Family who had had the good fortune to escape the Bolshevik purge. Among these seventeen were the Dowager Empress Marie, her two daughters, Cirand Eucchesses Olga and Xenia, and the latter's husband, Grand Duke Alexander, the author o this oo . The Russian Revolution, one of the longest in history, was begun in the reign of Nicholas I in 1812, and was successfully concluded in 1918. I do not mean to suggest that there was fighting during these hundred and more years. On the contrary, there was hardly any fighting of conse- quence until their last decade. The long revolution took place in the form of assassinating the different members of the Imperial Family, of throwing bombs at palaces, and of attempted uprisings which were always suppressed, although sometimes a good deal of blood was shed. Grand Duke Alexander has written an extremely impressive book. He gives us a fine picture of the Royal Family, and a clear notion of the political situation with all its corruption and graft. In the Foreword he says that the purpose of the book is not to give facts but to record a grand duke's progress and the personal life of the members of the Imperial Family with which he was in close contact. Mn,oREn SCHWARZ, '37. The Death of a World By M. RoMAiN ROLLAND Jean Christophe, a novel by Rolland, published over twenty years ago, is still in great demand. In The Death of a World, M. Rolland presents a study of a woman comparable to that of the man in Jean Christophe. This powerful novel deals with those post-war years which seem more and more to mark the death of a world. Annette Riviere, warm-hearted, courageous, independent, is one of his great conceptions, her advance into middle age, and the growth of her son, Marc, to manhood furnish the basic theme in this story of a disillusioned era. Annette's personal development is complicated because she has to gain a livelihood in a world of greedy financiers, Marc, violent and bitter toward the youth of the period, acquires a new attitude toward life and sex. The delightful love story of Marc and the young Russian, Assia, brings the novel to a close on a note of hope. This book, The Death of a World, will be of special interest to those who feel that the civi- lization of today, although far advanced in material ways, is still primitive and barbaric. Moments of dark despair, illuminating hope, and conflicting emotion are masterfully combined in this book, to make it interesting, instructive, and sincere. JOAN AMBERG, '38. Up from Slavery By Booxsn T. WAsHiNcrroN This is an interesting autobiography of the founder of Tuskegee Institute for Negroes. A negro himself, Mr. Washington, through education, succeeded in raising the standards of negro life. His own life exemplifies what a negro may accomplish. JUDITH FRANK, '36 Benjamin Franlelinlv Autobiography I can sav for this book that it is one of the finest I've read. I commend its frankness and utter simplicity, the unbiased and honest account of Franklin's life, the logical thinking and excellent ways of living it teaches. I was chiefly interested in the usefulness and fineness of the author's life. SHIRLEY fiKEENE, '36 Fifty-two

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Q 1936 INK POT ' The Picture of Dorian Gray By Oscmt Wirns Dorian Gray is a young man who is so extremely handsome that he might be called beautiful. He is the subject of a portrait being painted by Basil Hallward. The third important character is Lord Henry Wotton, ultra-sophisticated, witty, the type that Wilde was so fond of in his plays. Lord Henry's conversation is composed mainly of clever remarks that, when analyzed, mean practically nothing. Such as: I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible. Conscience and cowardice are really the same things, UI choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good character, and my enemies for their good intellects. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Wilde is again ridiculing the idle dandy of English society during the nineteenth century. The reader grows to despise Lord Henry, and his remarks become a trifle too scintillating. He is fascinating, though, in his langourous, sensual way, and one can understand the strange hold he has on Dorian. Basil Hallward sees in Dorian all that art ever meant to him. He wished to keep this youth unspotted and away from the meaningless, shallow English society. He perceives that Lord Henry would turn the boy's head and would spoil his eager, candid, spontaneous nature. Dorian is introduced into the story with a soul as beautiful as his face. Lord Henry im- presses upon him the fact that he possesses great beauty, and when Dorian sees the portrait he wishes fervently for the picture to grow old and for him to remain eternally young. He said, I would give my soul for that. From this point Wilde traces the sinister, insidious influence Lord Henry has on Dorian. Wilde's descriptions are remarkable in that they convey perfectly the languid, dreamy, sensuous mood of the story. He appeals to our senses of smell and touch, and his descriptive sentences are long, giving a continuity that hold the whole theme together. Here is an illustration: The studio was Filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn. The book is fantastic, almost weird. There is not one character that is lovable or wholly human. Yet Wilde's style is fascinating, and the mood and atmosphere seep into the reader's mind. IRENE FRANK, '36 I Write As I Please By WAl.TER DURANTY Walter Duranty, Moscow correspondent of the New York Times since 1920, says that he first heard of Russia at the age of four when his nurse took him to a Russian comedy. But he patiently waited for some thirty years before he really saw the country. If I do get back I shall do as I please and write as I please, without fear or favor, is the resolution Mr. Duranty made while lying in a French hospital suffering from the agony of a gangrenous foot. Hence, we have an unusual title from an unusual statement. Mr. Duranty has given to the readers the substance of his interviews with Stalin and other outstanding Russian leaders. He tells the story of the New Economic Policy, the Five Year Plan and the man-made famine of 1933, into all of which he weaves bits of personal adventure and of humor. This book is part autobiography and part history, and with its humorous touches it ought to appeal to any reader interested in Russia, to whom pure history books are a bore. MURIEL HELLER, '37 Anna Karenina By Leo ToLsTox Tolstoi possesses a dramatic, powerful, and sweeping style which is very intense. This, together with his sympathetic understanding of people, power of analysis, and descriptive ability makes this novel of Russian life before the Russian Revolution well worth reading. Juoxrn FRANK, '36 Fifty-one

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Q 1936 INK POT 4 Marie Antoinette By STEFAN ZwE1c The subtitle of this biography is The Portrait of an Average Woman. Zweig points out to the reader that Marie Antoinette was a person very much like one of us, and it was just a matter of curious fate that she was selected to be queen during the tumultuous period of the French Revolution. Marie Antoinette possessed no outstanding characteristics, no streak of genius to set her apart from the masses. Her inward greatness was but the result of uncommon mis- fortunes. Stefan Zweig is an essentially honest biographer. He presents the facts impartially and ex- plains clearly why he interprets them in the way he does. Zweig does not idealize Marie An- toinette, become sentimental, or make her appear a heroine. He merely gives you the history, and elucidates the events and results psychologically. His style is nobleg he builds fact upon fact until a stirring climax is reached. Yet it never becomes tiresome, for he expresses himself definitely and frankly, concealing nothing that may develop character. Stefan Zweig closes the book with this sentence: My hope is that, in default of all exagger- ation, this character will arouse the sympathy and enjoy the understanding of the present, pre- cisely because she was of one Hesh with ourselves. I feel that he certainly accomplished this magnificently, for I put down the book with a deep understanding of Marie Antoinette as a person, and I felt a great sympathy for this average woman who achieved a greatness com- mensurate with her destiny just before her death. IRENE FRANK, '36 Thirteen at Dinner By AGATHA Cl-IRISTIE 'You think she would do murder? 'Poirot watched him intently. 'Bryan drew a deep breath. 'Upon my word I do. Perhaps one of these days, you'll remember my words-I know her, you see. She'd kill as easily as she'd drink her morning tea- ' She was jane Wilkinson, a famous actress. Poirot remembered Bryan's words, for a few days later Lord Edgeware, jane's eccentric husband, was found murdered in his study at Regent Gate. Poirot certainly had to use his brain in this baffling case and the result is a thrilling mystery. The story provides a very interesting murder mystery which baffles the reader, as well as the detective, until that fateful night on the way home from the party. The character of jane Wilkinson is vividly and plausibly portrayed. This and the author's attractive style serve to hold the reader's interest. ELAINE BERG, '40 Crime and Punishment By Dosrorsvsxs' This book is well known for its insight into human nature and for its psychological truths. In the author's mind crime is its own punishment, and punitive measures can never be so severe as the penalty the human soul can impose upon itself. The story is the murder committed by Raskolnikov, his punishment and atonement. SHIRLEY GREENE, '36 All Quiet On the Western Front By ERICH MARIA RIEMAROUE This is a horror-filled story about actual conditions at the front during the World VVar. The tales related by a young German soldier make one shudder to think that anyone could have had such dreadful experiences. RENEE KLEIN, 36 Fifty-three