The following pages contain an announcement of
Mr. Hergesheimer's
which was regarded by many critics as the best
American novel published in 1917.
THE THREE BLACK PENNYS
By Joseph Hergesheimer
This is the story of three dark men of the Penny family; three men, and yet, in youth, middle and old age, one man and one unbroken narrative. There are, too, primarily, three women—Ludowika, a passionate woman, Susan Brundon, a spiritual woman, and Mariana, in whom both passion and spirit meet and are interpreted in a smiling disdain of small prejudices and conventions.
The story proceeds against the developing background of steel, from the primitive iron forges and furnaces of the Province of Pennsylvania to the gigantic mills of today. Its course winds through the early forests, hardly broken by the scattered settlements on the fringe of America, through the solidifying nation of 1840, to the complex problems of today.
It is, however, concerned with no purpose but that of human happiness. In detail it is the story of the incalculable effects, through a century and a half, of a heedless and overwhelming love: there is great possession, retribution, and a wreath of victory.
"... He has here fashioned a novel out of distinctly American life on an original pattern, caught the very air and flavor of three widely seperated epochs of our history, evolved living men and women, and told the story of their lives with skill and art and understanding.... Whether as a picture or a criticism of life, Mr. Hergesheimer's novel is a notable achievement. Although dealing with three epochs so distant each from each, it is a close woven, smoothly flowing story, and one hurries on from part to part as interested as if its scenes were all laid within a single lifetime. Every one of its many characters in each of its divisions, is touched with life and glows with verity.... It is a book to arouse interest, inspire thought, and provoke discussion."—New York Times.
"Mr. Hergesheimer is a master in his portrayal of the mind of man and the blind, not-understood, forces which urge him to what he does. He has brought out the haze which surrounds the consciousness of man very realistically. The book is finely done, and the three black Pennys live as only rarely happens in the characters of fiction."—Boston Transcript.
"... a work of fiction which all reviewers should hail as of shining distinction.... No one who reads it can fail to compare it with Galsworthy's "The Dark Flower," but the "Three Black Pennys" is a greater book in that it takes in more life.... he makes very vital at least three men and as many women. He does it all, too, in a distinguished fashion, as one sure of his grasp and touch.... It commands the reader's admiration for its artistry and unrelaxingly engages his deeper sympathies."—Reedy's Mirror.
In "The Three Black Pennys" the high promise of "The Lay Anthony" comes to fulfilment. The story is intelligently planned, cleverly articulated, and written with great skill. It has style, distinction, repose; it suggests, in more than one way, the fine craftsmanship of John Galsworthy. The three men who are its chief figures stand out from the page in all the colors of life and the changing background behind them is washed in with excellent art. Altogether, it is a novel that commands respect. Such sound writing is tragically rare in America.—H. L. Mencken.
"... It is Hergesheimer at his best. The three pictures might be hung on a wall, so vivid, veracious and evocative are they; and the finest artistry may be found in the admirable diminuendo of the last section of the story the passing away of the Penny race, which decadence is conveyed to the reader most artfully in the general slacking of tempo and muffling of dynamic accents, its contrast with the buoyancy, the virility, the brilliancy of the first section. I have high hopes for the artistic future of the young man from Pennsylvania. Pray tell him so for me."—James Huneker.
"The Three Black Pennys will prove one of the most stimulating and attractive books of several seasons past."—Brooklyn Eagle.
"... an altogether notable book, a novel that should be read by those people who pride themselves on reading only the few best things in fiction."—Chicago Post.
"The book has an epic quality.... Written in a sytle that is as expressive as it is distinguished."—Indianapolis News.
"... a remarkable and original tale."—Detroit Free Press.
"In the writing there is a quality of sombre beauty one finds pre-eminently in the pages of Joseph Conrad."—Philadelphia Press.
"Ever read anything of Joseph Hergesheimer's? If not, better begin at once, for Hergesheimer is going to attract steady and accumulative attention. "The Three Black Pennys," his new novel, proves his right to be seriously discussed."—Chicago Herald.
"... exquisitely written."—New York Globe.
"He adopts an ambitious plan, but he develops his theme with skill and notable success."—Springfield Republican.
"... a rare piece of literary artistry ... fully justifies a strong faith in Mr. Hergesheimer's enduring ability."—New York World.
"There is something remarkable in the way in which buried generations are made to live for the beholder."—New York Post.
"It is a story remarkable in its conception and written with that dignity and finish which bespeaks the artist."—New Orleans Times-Picayune.
"There is an imperative humanness in his character drawings.... The book is wrought with fine craftsmanship; beyond that its teachings are healthy and sane...."—New York Call.
"If a man can sit in a little Pennsylvania town and write such a book as this, then surely the day when America can challenge all literary Europe has arrived.... His descriptive sketches are like the oil paintings of a master, all colour and life and a flash of soul. His humor is somber, sardonic, and yet he has an undercurrent of gentleness and understanding..."—Pittsburgh Leader.
$1.60 at all bookshops
Published in New York by
ALFRED A. KNOPF
INCORPORATED