Short Fiction Davis, Richard Harding: The Exiles and Other Stories (Illustrated). v1.00. 22-Aug-08

[swr2408018]

This is the 2nd volume in a 12-volume set of Davis' short stories and novels, based on the Scribner's Crossroads Edition, but with some additional material and a lot of illustrations not included in that edition. I've already posted Vol 1, and the rest of the set is coming shortly.

This material is all PD in the US, as it was originally published between 1891 and 1916.

From the Editor's Note I wrote for this book, a quick preview:

Several of the stories in this volume are remarkably dark in tone for Davis. Even the light-hearted Van Bibber is in over his head in "An Anonymous Letter", allowing himself to be put into a false position with several friends that he doesn't quite know how to remedy. There are tales of men who seriously contemplate abandoning moral principle--"His Bad Angel" and "The Other Woman"--and also of one man who carefully and deliberately does breaks his principles (though perhaps for the good) in "The Exiles".

The lightest and sweetest of the bunch is Davis' novelette _The Lion and the Unicorn_, a fairly conventional romance between two American artists trying to make a professional start in England. The plot is a bit unusual for the time in that the unrequited male pursuer chooses to retire from the chase, leaving it entirely up to the woman to make her choice and declaration. It leaves open the issue (perhaps one of more concern to modern readers) whether her self-assertiveness in love will be matched with an active artistic career. (It is an interesting point of comparison that Rudyard Kipling's heroine in _The Light That Failed_ made a completely different life choice in a roughly similar situation.)

In an interesting turn from a writer who so often celebrates individual initiative and drive, there are several stories that warn about unbridled and thoughtless action. Davis is often associated with what is called the American "Imperialist" movement of the late 19th century--a push for the United States to exert more military influence over affairs throughout the Western Hemisphere. These stories, however, suggest more ambivalent views about the use and possible misuse of force. In one, Davis and some college friends tear down a barrier (albeit one they consider illegal) across the Thames in "Right of Way." In another, a group of British militiamen from South Africa head to prison as scapegoats in the wake of an unsanctioned border raid in "The Last Ride Together". And in a grotesque lampoon of misguided energy and initiative run amock in "The Reporter Who Made Himself King," two young men single-handedly kick off an international incident.

Steve

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